2024-09-04 20:37:41
Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram, allegedly collaborated with the French intelligence services. According to the publication “Liberation”, Durov was not only ready to cooperate with French law enforcement, but also actively supported their activities.
During his arrest, Durov appeared calm and confident, as if he had expected such a development of events in advance.
He handed over his mobile phone with the access code without hesitation and said that he had already established an official channel of communication with French counterintelligence. According to him, this cooperation was aimed at combating terrorism, and thanks to joint efforts, several terrorist attacks had been prevented.
Earlier, “Kursor” wrote that after Durov’s arrest, the Russian Federation fears the leak of secret information from the Ministry of Defense.
Russian authorities reacted with unexpected fury to the arrest of Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram. However, this was not due to concern for citizens, but because the messenger plays a key role in Russia’s military and intelligence activities. Telegram has become an integral part of the Russian military’s communications, which it uses to communicate at the front, direct artillery, coordinate movements and gather intelligence.
Alexey Rogozin, a Russian parliamentary adviser and former senior defense industry executive, said the arrest of Pavel Durov was equivalent to the detention of a key Russian military communications officer. In his view, Telegram is so integrated into Russia’s military infrastructure that its loss could deal a significant blow to the armed forces’ communications.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, both sides in the conflict have been actively using various commercial platforms for their own needs. Ukrainian troops have mostly preferred to use Western services such as Signal and Discord, which are considered more secure. Russian troops have chosen Telegram, which is based in the United Arab Emirates, a country that maintains friendly relations with Moscow. According to the Russians, this makes Telegram less vulnerable to Western intelligence.
Rogozin also noted that Telegram is used to transmit intelligence, guide artillery, and broadcast video from drones. Thus, Telegram has become a vital tool for Russian forces at the front.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Russian troops are accessing Telegram via mobile networks or Starlink satellite terminals. These terminals were initially used only by Ukrainian forces, but are now also seen in Russian units in occupied Ukrainian territories.