Russian Army's Telegram Problem
Russian Authorities Decided to Restrict Telegram
CONTENT
Reactions
Russian Government Response
Impact Assessment
A wave of complaints about Telegram access began on Monday, and the blocking intensified on Tuesday. On Tuesday, RBC, citing sources, reported that Roskomnadzor had decided to slow down the messenger’s operation across Russia. The agency officially confirmed that it plans to intensify Telegram restrictions.
By blocking Telegram and WhatsApp, the authorities are pushing Russians toward switching to Max, which is transparent to the security services.
Reactions
A large number of Russian pro-war channels and prominent military bloggers reacted with sharp criticism to the government’s decision to restrict Telegram, openly warning that such measures could significantly complicate operations for the Russian Armed Forces:
The Russian military associated channel Voenny Obozrevatel reported that, as of today, Telegram had remained the only functioning means of communication and situational awareness for Russian mobile air defense units tasked with protecting the country’s airspace from long-range Ukrainian kamikaze drones.
This was also confirmed by the Z-channel Dva Mayora. According to the channel, coordination of interagency mobile fire groups is conducted specifically through Telegram.
“Why there is still no unified interagency air situational awareness system is a question for air defense,” the channel stated. It further noted that a radar operator cannot transmit information about what appears on his radar via the state messenger Max, “because the Service for the Protection of State Secrets in the Armed Forces (ZGT), the Internal Security Department (OSB), and other oversight bodies would inevitably come knocking afterward.”
Another pro-war channel Belorusskiy Silovik emphasizes that closed regional chats exist on the platform for interagency coordination, where military personnel report “where a drone has flown and where it was successfully shot down.”
“The shutdown of mobile internet has already significantly disrupted the entire process, and with Telegram being slowed down the problems have only intensified. This has become clear from information received directly from personnel on the ground,” the channel added.
Another Telegram channel, Voevoda Veshchaet, added in a postscript that those responsible for slowing down Telegram should not only be sent to the front, but also held accountable “for increasing losses on the front line.”
Video appeals circulated by another channel lpr1 show soldiers expressing frustration that the regulator’s actions are undermining frontline coordination.
