Roskomnadzor did not turn off Telegram calls to russian military invaders fighting in Ukraine.
Novaya Gazeta military columnist Valery Shiryayev reported this, citing sources in the army.
"A decision was made not to block conversations on the messenger at the front," he said.
According to Shiryayev, the Ministry of Defense "showed great wisdom" by ensuring that this function was left for the military.
"The situation with communication at the front is very difficult, and if this tool is also taken away from people, it will be a shot in the foot. Therefore, both Discord and Telegram will be used there to the fullest extent," he noted.
Shiryaev added that the russian military is not yet considering the national messenger Max as an alternative: "When I asked sources whether they were going to switch to Max, they just chuckled and said: "Well, let's see what it is."
The fact that Roskomnadzor's restrictions did not affect voice communication in Telegram at the front was also reported by z-bloggers.
"At a meeting with (the head of the Russian Defense Ministry) Andrei Belousov, he assured us that in the SVO zone, calls on TG will work as before! There is simply no alternative to this yet," wrote propagandist Yuriy Podoliaka.
A similar information was provided by the military correspondent of the propaganda "Komsomolskaya Pravda" Oleksandr Kots.
"At a meeting with the participation of all interested structures, a decision was made that there will be no slowdowns or blocking of calls on the "blue" (Telegram) in the SVO zone. For those who used the messenger in their combat work, nothing will change," he assured.
"You cannot make calls on Telegram and WhatsApp throughout the country, but you can make calls on Telegram in the SVO zone. Everything for the convenience of our fighters!", confirmed pro-kremlin political scientist Sergei Markov.
Roskomnadzor announced restrictions on audio and video calls on WhatsApp and Telegram for russians on August 13. According to the agency, the reason was "numerous appeals from citizens" about the alleged increase in fraud, extortion, and involvement in "subversive and terrorist activities" through these services.
According to the research company Mediascope, in July, WhatsApp's reach in russia amounted to 96.2 million people over the age of 12, Telegram - 89.8 million. In terms of average daily reach, the messengers also lead: the first is used at least once a day by 81.8 million russians, the second - 67.4 million.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.