Telegram blocks chatbots of Ukrainian security agencies

Chatbots of the Military Intelligence Agency of Ukraine (GRU), the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Ministry of Digital Transformation, which were used to gather information about Russian troops in the occupied territories, have disappeared from Telegram and are not accessible from April 28.
Telegram, the most popular messaging app in Ukraine, has played a key role in maintaining channels of communication with citizens living in Russian-occupied territories.
The Military Intelligence Agency of Ukraine's Telegram chatbot, t.me/gur_official_bot, was used to communicate with those living in Russian-controlled areas and those wishing to join the fight against Russian forces.
The channel allowed people to post information about Russian military positions, equipment, air defenses, troop movements, and more.
The chatbots of the SBU and the Ministry of Digital Transformation - t.me/stop_russian_war_bot and t.me/evorog_bot - served a similar purpose.
Ukrainian journalist Konstantin Ryzhenko was the first to report the disappearance of the chatbots on April 28, "Kyiv Independent" reported.
Ukraine's military intelligence agency confirmed that its bot had been blocked.
"Today, the management of the Telegram platform unreasonably blocked a number of official bots that opposed Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, including the 'Main Intelligence Bot,'" the agency wrote on its official Telegram channel.
The agency stressed that the situation does not affect the security of users' personal data, but warned Russia against creating fake bots with similar names. Military Intelligence said it was moving the bot to other platforms and reminded that users could still use Signal, WhatsApp or Proton email instead.
Pavel Durov, Telegram's Russian-born founder, said last week that Telegram users in Ukraine could expect "certain changes" in terms of access to some channels, which he called "general news/propaganda channels."
The entrepreneur said that in February 2022, he proposed to restrict "Telegram channels in Russia and Ukraine because they are used for military propaganda", but Russian and Ukrainian users "vehemently opposed the restrictions".
Telegram also bans accounts and bots that collect coordinates for targeted strikes or post personal information with calls for violence, Durov noted.
Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kirill Budanov said in March that Telegram carries risks because "any person can create a channel and start writing whatever they want in it," but it also provides certain advantages, namely communicating with people from the occupied regions. /BGNES