Ukraine bans officials from using Telegram on state-issued devices
Al Jazeera
Decision comes after intelligence agency shared evidence of Russia’s ability to access Telegram messages and personal data.
Ukraine has banned government and military officials from using the Telegram messaging app on state-issued devices because of concerns about Russian surveillance.
The National Security and Defence Council announced the restrictions on Friday after Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s GUR military intelligence agency, presented the council with evidence of Russian special services’ ability to snoop on the platform, it said in a statement.
The ban was a “matter of national security”, it added.
Telegram is heavily used in both Ukraine and Russia and has become a critical source of information since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who sits on the security council, as well as military commanders and regional and city officials, all regularly publish updates on the war and report important decisions on Telegram. Officials who use Telegram as part of their duties will not be affected by the new ban.
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