The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that Pavel Durov, the founder of Telegram messenger, has been charged in Russia with aiding terrorist activities.

The FSB said in a statement that the procedure for placing him on the international wanted list was initiated.

"The head of the Telegram administration, Pavel Durov, has been charged as part of a criminal investigation under Article 205.1, Part 1.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (aiding terrorist activities). He is being placed on the international wanted list," the statement read.

The statement said that "in violation of Russian legislation, the administration of Telegram has not removed numerous channels, chats and bots of this messenger that are actively used by Ukrainian special services, terrorist and extremist organisations to prepare and coordinate sabotage and terrorist acts, mass killings, and cyberfraud activities in Russia."

It added that "these activities have resulted in numerous casualties, including women and children, as well as billions of dollars in material damage."

Telegram was heavily restricted and effectively blocked in Russia from 2018 to 2020. In early 2026 local media reported that the govenment was planning to block the messaging platform again. Around 65 million people in Russia use Telegram daily.