The Telegram messaging app has dismissed allegations by the Russian government that its encryption has been breached by foreign intelligence services saying that it's not found any breaches of its encryption.
In response to a Reuters request for comment, the company said, "No breaches of Telegram's encryption have ever been found."
It added, "The Russian government's allegation that our encryption has been compromised is a deliberate fabrication intended to justify outlawing Telegram and forcing citizens on to a state-controlled messaging platform engineered for mass surveillance and censorship."
The comment comes after Digital Development Minister Maksud Shadayev said on Wednesday that foreign intelligence services were able to see Telegram messages sent by Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.
Russia's state communications regulator has introduced restrictions on Telegram over what it says is a failure by the company to delete extremist content.
The application is an important platform for public and private communications in the country.
Russian soldiers, war correspondents and politicians have said the app is widely used by troops - not only to communicate with their families back home, but also sometimes for operational purposes.
Russia has also blocked or restricted other foreign messaging platforms such as Meta's WhatsApp and Apple's FaceTime.
Authorities have urged people to switch to a new state-backed app called MAX, rejecting allegations that it is designed as a surveillance tool.
Telegram argued the claim is intended to justify outlawing the app.
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The Kremlin has defended sweeping internet restrictions across Russia, saying measures such as blocking messaging platforms and virtual private networks are necessary for national security rather than a return to past controls.
Russia has imposed a fine of 35 million roubles (around $432,366) on the messaging platform Telegram for failing to remove content deemed illegal by the authorities, according to the Interfax news agency.
Foreign intelligence services are able to see messages sent by Russian soldiers using the Telegram messaging app, Russia's minister for digital development Maksud Shadayev said on Wednesday, the Interfax news agency reported.
Russia has begun slowing down the Telegram messaging application, with Roskomnadzor, Russia’s federal communications regulator, set to implement partial restrictions from 10 February, following a wave of fines and administrative cases accusing the platform of hosting illegal content.
Kuwait arrested four members of an IRGC-linked group as they tried to enter the country by sea, the Gulf state's KUNA news agency reported on Tuesday. Meanwhile, a senior IRGC officer said Iran had expanded its definition of the Strait of Hormuz to include a far wider area.
Australia confirmed it will repatriate citizens from the MV Hondius cruise ship hit by a deadly hantavirus outbreak, with quarantine on arrival. Spain, France are evacuating nationals as three deaths are confirmed. In the U.S., two passengers have been isolated after testing positive for the virus.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday dismissed Iran’s response to a U.S. peace proposal as a “stupid proposal,” saying Tehran failed to commit to abandoning its pursuit of a nuclear weapon, while warning the fragile ceasefire was on “massive life support”.
Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotsku has been elected the 142nd head of the Georgian Orthodox Church at a meeting of clergy in Tbilisi following the death of longtime Patriarch Ilia II.
Afghanistan has signed a five-year gold mining contract with Afghan and Azerbaijani companies in a deal worth more than $20m, the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has said.
Senior officials from China and Uzbekistan met in Beijing this week for talks on trade, infrastructure and bilateral cooperation, underscoring a relationship that has continued to deepen steadily in recent years.
Senior economic officials from China and the U.S. are holding two days of trade talks in Seoul this week ahead of a summit in Beijing, where Donald Trump and Xi Jinping are set to meet face to face for the first time this year.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer laid down the gauntlet to challengers on Tuesday (12 May), as he defied calls to resign at a meeting of Cabinet, telling ministers that there had been no official move to trigger a leadership contest.
Malaysia's Maritime Enforcement Agency has launched a search and rescue operation for 14 people missing at sea after a wooden boat, strongly believed to be illegally transporting undocumented Indonesian migrants, capsized and sank off the country's western coast on Monday morning.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 12th of May, covering the latest developments you need to know.
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