Multiple Ukrainian officials have called for Telegram, a popular social media platform in Ukraine, to be restricted following a string of deadly bombings across the country.
On Sunday, two blasts targeting police officers in western Ukraine’s Lviv killed one and injured 25. Another two bombings the following day in Mykolaiv and Dnipro, in southern and central Ukraine respectively, injured additional law enforcement officers and damaged a police station.
Officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have linked the attacks to Russian intelligence, with authorities saying most locals were recruited via Telegram, motivated primarily by financial incentives or pro-Russian views.
“We must limit the capabilities”
Iryna Vereshchuk, deputy head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, wrote on Telegram after Sunday’s Lviv attack that “we must limit the capabilities of these platforms.”
“Once again, we see that the enemy systematically uses Telegram to recruit terrorists, coordinate their activities, and carry out terrorist attacks,” Vereshchuk wrote.
“This is another reminder for us to think about the functioning of Telegram and other anonymous platforms in our information space during war.”
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko and Deputy Head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) Ivan Rudnytsky echoed her views.
At a Monday press briefing, Klymenko said that “about half” of the recruitment for bombing campaigns occurred via Telegram, while Rudnytsky urged different agencies to step up efforts to curb the platform’s illegal activities, according to Interfax Ukraine.
“Regarding the use of Telegram, this is a question not only for the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the Security Service of Ukraine. This is a question that society, among others, must answer,” Klymenko said. “Limiting and ensuring work by which we can reduce the number of such crimes, namely terrorist crimes, is probably what we need to talk about.”
“Not only law enforcement agencies, but also other relevant state institutions... must strengthen certain regulatory functions in this direction in terms of restricting and preventing these information resources or internet resources from being used for illegal activities and terrorist activities,” Rudnytsky added.
What is Telegram?
Telegram is a messaging app that lets users send texts, media, and files, and join large public or private channels.
Channels range from those run by officials and media outlets for public announcements to private groups where users can organize activities – both legal and illegal.
For Ukrainians, Telegram is often the messenger of choice, with around 10 million active users – nearly a quarter of the population – and an estimated 70% relying on it for news in 2023, according to a USAID survey.
But the platform, founded by Russian-born tech mogul Pavel Durov (who has since moved to Dubai), has raised security concerns on multiple occasions.
A June 2025 investigation by Russian outlet Important Stories, in partnership with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), suggests the platform has ties to Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).
The investigation alleges that many Telegram messages pass through servers controlled by Global Network Management (GNM), owned by Russian engineer Vladimir Vedeneev, who also owns or controls other companies that provide services to Russian government agencies, including the FSB.
Although Telegram denied having employees or servers in Russia, accusations of its Russian ties persist, including recent claims by Serhiy Demedyuk, former deputy secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (RNBO), who told local tech outlet Dev.ua that Durov has been and remains an FSB asset.
Kyiv’s previous attempts to restrict Telegram
This is not the first time Kyiv has called for restrictions on Telegram.
On Sept. 20, 2024, Ukraine imposed restrictions on the use of the Telegram messaging app by government, military, and security personnel.
Ukrainian security officials also said at the time that Russia has used Telegram for cyberattacks, phishing schemes, malware distribution, and tracking user geolocations, even adjusting missile strikes based on the data.
A bill was said to be in the works to regulate Telegram nationwide, though it is unclear whether it has progressed, as no restrictions have been announced for regular users to date.
It is also unclear how Kyiv officials plan to implement the restrictions following the latest call.
Russia’s Telegram ban
If Kyiv moves forward with Telegram restrictions, Moscow’s experience may serve as a cautionary example.
Moscow began throttling the platform’s access in early February to push locals toward the state‑sanctioned Max service, a move that has contributed to a general frontline communications collapse.
A telecommunications industry source told Forbes that Telegram traffic in Russia declined on Feb. 9 and 10. On Monday, the slowdown affected regional users; by Tuesday, it had reached Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Russian Telegram users reported outages for the second consecutive day on Feb. 10, according to Downdetector and Sboy.rf.
Soon after, Russian soldiers on the front were also reportedly struggling to communicate after Telegram was curtailed nationwide and Starlink terminals failed, leaving units paralyzed and contributing to deadly friendly-fire incidents.
Russian propagandist Ivan Utenkov described the situation as chaotic.
“How are we supposed to fight? With pigeons?” he wrote.