Telegram messenger's founder Pavel Durov has been charged by Russia with facilitating terrorism, reports infohub.kz.
Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) stated that the messenger was used by Ukrainian secret services to prepare and coordinate acts of sabotage and terror inside Russia, and that Telegram failed to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukraine.
An international arrest warrant has been issued for Durov, a Russian-born entrepreneur who lives abroad. Shortly after the charge was announced, Telegram's account on X posted an image showing Durov holding up his middle finger.
Durov has previously accused Russian authorities of 'fabricating new pretexts to restrict Russians' access to Telegram'.
Telegram is a popular messenger in Russia, used by tens of millions of people, although authorities have been restricting access as part of a broader crackdown on internet freedom.
Durov has lived outside Russia for many years and holds French and United Arab Emirates (UAE) citizenship. It is unclear whether other countries or authorities will comply with the arrest warrant issued by Russia.