Russia has escalated its legal pressure on Telegram founder Pavel Durov, with the Federal Security Service (FSB) formally charging him with facilitating terrorist activities and issuing an international warrant for his arrest, according to multiple official sources .
The FSB has charged Durov under Part 1.1 of Article 205.1 of the Russian Criminal Code, which concerns assistance to terrorist activity . The agency alleges that Telegram’s administration, under Durov’s leadership, failed to remove numerous channels, chats, and bots that were actively used by Ukrainian intelligence agencies and extremist groups to coordinate acts of sabotage, terrorism, and cyberfraud within Russia .
The FSB claims that since 2022, over 153,000 crimes have been committed using the Telegram platform in Russia, including the organization of the Crocus City Hall terror attack and the murders of high-profile figures such as Daria Dugina and nine senior Russian defense officials .
According to the FSB, Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor had sent more than 150,000 requests to Telegram demanding the removal of illegal content, which the platform allegedly ignored . Russia also claims that Ukrainian operatives used the app’s dating service to recruit Russian men for terrorist activities, leading to the detention of 46 young suspects across 16 regions since July 2025 .
In a defiant response, Telegram’s official account on X posted an image of Durov making an obscene gesture with his middle finger . No other immediate comment has been issued by Durov or Telegram.
Durov, who left Russia in 2014 and holds French and UAE passports, could face life imprisonment in Russia if convicted . It remains unclear whether other countries would comply with the international arrest warrant issued by Moscow .