President Zelensky has no Telegram app in his phone - media

The New York Times wrote about this in a detailed report on Monday, citing sources in Ukrainian authorities who deal with cybersecurity, Ukrinform reports.

For security reasons, President Zelensky, who regularly posts news about the war for his more than 700 thousand subscribers on Telegram, does not use the application in his personal phone, the publication notes, citing an unnamed Ukrainian official.

It is noted that at secret meetings on cybersecurity earlier this year, the Ukrainian authorities discussed possible additional restrictions on Telegram in Ukraine. After all, Ukrainian intelligence concluded that the application poses a threat to national security and is used by Russia for disinformation, cyberattacks, hacking, spreading malware, location tracking, and adjusting missile strikes.

Meanwhile, the publication notes that a significant number of Ukrainians have grown addicted to the Telegram app. Today, it is used as a source of news, a means of missile alert, a platform for volunteer fundraisers, and a tool for viewing raw battlefield reports.

A considerable addiction is also observed in Russia, too, where this messenger is used by about half of the population, including military and government officials.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, in Ukraine, almost a million users downloaded the Telegram app within a month of February 24, 2022, and today 88% of Ukrainians use the platform despite its "Russian roots".

The Telegram founder, Russian Pavel Durov, who is also the creator of the VKontakte social media platform, graduated from the Philological Faculty of St. Petersburg State University, where he simultaneously studied at the military department with a specialization in "Propaganda and Psychological Warfare", receiving the rank of reserve lieutenant. In 2014, Durov announced that he had left Russia, posing as a victim of the Putin-KGB regime. According to media reports, he has multiple citizenships, including that of France, the UAE, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

As it later became known, Durov secretly visited Russia from 2014 to 2021 more than 60 times. This at least casts serious doubt on the Telegram founder's claims that he has no ties to the Russian regime.

In addition, it has been exposed that long-term investors in Telegram, and in particular its cryptocurrency TON, include Russians David Yakobashvili and oligarch Roman Abramovich. The former is subject to Ukrainian sanctions, while the latter is subject to restrictions imposed by the European Union, the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Ukraine, and other countries. Both have close ties to the Kremlin.

Photo from open sources