Telegram and the war: Durov's arrest could complicate things for the Russian military in Ukraine

Telegram is widely used by the Russian armed forces in Ukraine, and the platform is strictly regulated by the Kremlin.

Transcript

00:00Pavel Durov's arrest could complicate Russian plans in Ukraine.

00:07Telegram is very popular amongst Russian speakers and plays a crucial role in the war in Ukraine,

00:12both for the operations on the ground and for the spreading of Moscow's narrative.

00:18According to the Institute for the Study of War, it is, quote, the main alternative to

00:23official communications for Russian military personnel in Ukraine.

00:29It's not just a news source, but it's a kind of key messenger that is used for coordination

00:36of action on different levels, to store video, to share large files, and all these kind of things.

00:44And you've got a lot of channels who are directly, more or less directly connected with the Kremlin

00:50or with the DOD, the Department of Defense of Russia.

00:57Telegram is an encrypted chat and avoided being put under Russian government control in 2018.

01:03But according to experts, the Kremlin has managed to manipulate it,

01:07having brought in stricter legislation on its activities.

01:11The owners of channels that are grouping more than 10,000 followers have to give the information

01:21to Roskomnadzor, which is more or less the organization who is in charge of controlling

01:27all the medias and social networks in the same law.

01:31They are explaining that if you've got a channel who is followed by more than 500,000 packs,

01:40you have to give all the information on your users, just if RKN or the FSB is asking it.

01:47So there is a kind of, not a control, but let's say a kind of more or less cooperation.

01:53With its CEO in prison in a European country, Russian forces may start leaving Telegram,

01:59which in an extreme scenario could also be totally blocked in the country.

02:03This uncertainty will likely impact Russian frontline operations,

02:07even if it seems unlikely that the French authorities could disclose the information

02:12contained in the encrypted chats.

02:15They could try to do so.

02:18It would be illegal, because at the EU level there is no decision about, you know,

02:24being allowed to read messages.

02:28Three months ago the EU could not reach an agreement on this.

02:31So, yes, they could try this, the secret services or whatever,

02:35but I really don't think that's the main problem now.

02:40Durov's detention is turning into a diplomatic incident between France and Russia.

02:45The Russian embassy in Paris accused France of refusing to cooperate.

02:49But French President Macron insisted that the arrest was not a political decision.