• Sources on the "Baza" Telegram channel shared inside information that Roskomnadzor will begin a complete blocking of the messenger as early as April 1. The blocking will be similar to Instagram and Facebook, where their domains were removed from the national DNS, and will affect absolutely all regions of the country, both on cellular networks and fixed-line internet.

• Roskomnadzor has issued an ambiguous response to the April blocking of the service: «We have nothing to add to the previously published information.».

• Russian authorities have so far decided not to restrict Telegram's use in the special operation zone. This was announced by Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadayev, who expressed hope that the Russian military will regroup and switch to Russian services. However, few are likely to do so, as Z-bloggers will lose access to a vast communications infrastructure while promoting their positions in Russia.

• The Telegram press service issued the answer: «The Russian government's claim that our encryption has been compromised is a deliberate fabrication designed to justify banning Telegram and force citizens to switch to a state-controlled messaging app designed for mass surveillance and censorship.». This comment is a response to the Russian authorities' assertion that «foreign intelligence services can see Russian military communications».

• The director of Russia's Federal Security Service expressed his opinion about Durov: «Negotiations with Durov? Not at the moment. We've talked before, but it didn't lead to anything good, unfortunately. He's pursuing his own selfish interests, which ultimately translate into a large number of crimes, such as juvenile delinquency, which we constantly discuss, terrorist attacks, and sabotage. We believe this approach is nothing more than condoning what's happening. <…> We need to work, not fight, for freedom of speech. No one is violating freedom of speech; we need to protect the interests of citizens. We must not allow the crimes committed by providing Telegram services to other criminal elements.».

• Roskomnadzor is dissatisfied with Telegram's handling of internet lookup bots. According to the agency, Telegram has removed approximately 8,400 services since 2022, and by 2026, up to 100 per week will be removed as required. «Telegram should independently prevent the disclosure of Russian citizens' personal data, eliminate the possibility of searching for 'lookup' services, and stop providing them with infrastructure access to stolen personal information.».

• The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has revealed details of internet-based OSINT. It explains that these are most often Telegram bots, and that 13,000 crimes are committed per month, causing damage of 15 billion rubles. Doxxing services are often used to collect data on military personnel, law enforcement officers, and government officials for the purpose of terrorist attacks.

• The Russian Federal Security Service will report in its public relations center that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can extremely quickly obtain the necessary information for military purposes, including threats from Russian military personnel, within three months of their analysis.

• TamTam (formerly OK Messages), a killer of Telegram from the creator of MAX, announced its closure on February 27th. It was intended to be an alternative, and perhaps even a replacement, for Telegram in Russia. Interestingly, its domain, tt.iss.one, bears a strong resemblance to Telegram.

• Vladimir Putin signed a law granting the Federal Security Service the right to suspend internet service providers, while waiving penalties for failure to properly fulfill their obligations to customers. 🙋 Welcome to Cheburnet.

Reports from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Federal Security Service count more than 153,000 crimes committed using Telegram since 2022. Of these, 33,000 are sabotage, terrorist, and extremist crimes.

Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports that Telegram can disclose the IP-addresses and phone numbers of any "Russian citizens" at the request of a foreign government. However, as noted by @d_code, the privacy policy makes no distinction between countries — the messenger discloses this data at the request of any government, if the target is a terrorist.

The FSB has prevented 475 terrorist attacks planned via Telegram, including 61 mass shootings at schools. The agency claims that Telegram was used to coordinate the terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in March 2024, and that attackers used the messenger's analytics to gather information on the movements of high-ranking military officials, bloggers, and journalists.