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Pavel Durov placed on Russia’s international terrorism list
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has issued an international arrest warrant for Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of facilitating terrorist activities and of failing to remove channels, chats and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence and extremist groups to coordinate sabotage, terrorism, mass killings and cyber‑fraud inside Russia. The FSB alleges that a popular dating bot, known as Leo Match (or Daivinchik), was used to recruit Russian youths; 46 citizens aged 12‑22 were arrested after being contacted through the bot and accused of attacking police and sabotaging energy and transport infrastructure.
Durov is also under criminal investigation in France for insufficient cooperation with law‑enforcement on content moderation, and the French authorities have charged him with “complicity in terrorism.” In Australia, the eSafety Commissioner has launched civil‑penalty proceedings seeking fines of up to US$35.8 million for Telegram’s failure to delete extremist material. Russia’s financial‑monitoring agency Rosfinmonitoring has added Durov to its list of terrorists and extremists, restricting his personal banking in the country. Telegram responded with a post on X showing Durov making a profane hand gesture but offered no substantive comment. Durov resides abroad (France, UAE) and has denied the accusations.
Entities
Australia eSafety Commissioner · Australian eSafety Commissioner · Federal Security Service (FSB) · France · France · French authorities · Leo Match Bot · MAX (Russian state messenger) · MAX messenger · Max · Pavel Durov · Rosfinmonitoring
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Ukrainian operatives used Telegram's dating service to recruit Russian men for terrorist activities.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Since July 2025, Russian authorities have detained 46 young users of Telegram's dating service across 16 regions.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced that Pavel Durov is subject of an international manhunt.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Telegram failed to remove channels, chats, and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence to coordinate terrorist attacks in Russia.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Telegram failed to remove channels and bots used by Ukrainian intelligence to coordinate attacks that caused civilian casualties.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The FAB‑3000 bomb is delivered by Su‑34 bombers using hybrid inertial‑satellite guidance from dozens of kilometres away.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Russian Federal Security Service placed Pavel Durov on an international wanted list for allegedly aiding terrorism.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Rostec announced that the FAB‑3000 heavy bomb with a glide kit can destroy fortified command bunkers.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Since July 2025, Russian authorities have detained 46 users of Telegram's dating service linked to terrorist activities.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Maria Zakharova warned that Europe cannot control the outflow of weapons from the Ukraine conflict.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] Italian chief prosecutor Maurizio de Lucia confirmed mafia interest in buying sophisticated drones.
- [○ 1 SOURCE] The Italian mafia is seeking to purchase Ukrainian drones on the black market.