Russia accuses Telegram founder of facilitating 'Ukrainian terrorism' and issues international arrest warrant

Telegram, an encrypted messaging app founded in 2013, claims to have more than 1 billion users and is widely used by both sides in the war between Russia and Ukraine. In recent years, Russia has repeatedly tried to restrict the use of Telegram by promoting its own messaging service, state-backed MAX. Still, state bodies, including the Kremlin and the Ministry of Defense, continue to publish daily on the platform. Durov, who was born in Russia but currently holds passports from the United Arab Emirates and France, founded the social network VKontakte — the Russian equivalent of Facebook — before selling his remaining stake in 2014 under pressure from Russian authorities. French authorities are investigating Durov over allegations that Telegram did not adequately combat criminal activity on the platform and did not cooperate sufficiently with requests from security forces. Durov denies wrongdoing. The Russian announcement comes after a state newspaper reported in February that Durov was under investigation in a terrorism-related case. In April, Durov posted on Telegram that a summons for “Suspect P.V. Durov” had been delivered to an apartment in Russia where he had lived for 20 years. "They must be suspecting that I defend Articles 29 and 23 of the Russian Constitution — which guarantee freedom of expression and the right to private correspondence. Proud to be guilty!", he wrote at the time. Durov's current whereabouts were not immediately clear. A May 16 post on his Telegram channel indicated he was in Dubai. On July 23, he wrote that he was “very impressed with Georgia” and that he hoped “to return very soon.”