Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov (C) told The Kyiv Independent, restricting Telegram use is a “matter of national security,” after p[reviously raising the alarm over the social media platform. Photo by Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA-EFE
Sept. 20 (UPI) — Government agencies, military and critical infrastructure in Ukraine will be restricted from using the Telegram social media app, officials announced Friday citing national security issues. The decision by the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine comes amid fears that Russian forces were able to access personal data from Ukrainian accounts, including deleted messages and other conversations of high-ranking officials.
Ukrainian officials were briefed earlier in the week on the issue by the country’s National Coordination Center for Cybersecurity.
“As a result of the meeting, it was recommended to limit the use of the Telegram messenger function for official correspondence for official purposes and on official devices,” the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine said in a statement on Facebook.
“The NCCC’s decision is advisory to the Government, but does not apply to the official Telegram channels of public authorities.”
French officials recently arrested Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov, charging the Russian entrepreneur with failing to moderate the social media platform.
Durov was formally indicted at the end of August.
Authorities are seeking to hold him responsible for criminal activities carried out with help from the cloud-based, cross-platform, social media and instant messaging service.
Durov and older brother Nikolai Durov originally launched Telegram Messenger in late summer of 2023.
The platform has become popular across both Ukraine and Russia and has over 900 million users.
“I have always advocated freedom of speech, but the issue of Telegram is not a matter of freedom of speech, it is a matter of national security,” Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov told The Kyiv Independent.
Budanov had previously spoken out against use of the app, calling it a threat to national security.