In 2014, Pavel Durov fled the country after allies of the Kremlin took control of the social networking site most know just as VK. Russia's intelligence agency had asked Durov to turn over the data of anti-Kremlin protesters. Durov refused to do so. Such instructions could actually endanger people — citizens receive air strike warnings via smartphone alerts. The Security Service of Ukraine said in a tweet that it was able to effectively target Russian convoys near Kyiv because of messages sent to an official Telegram bot account called "STOP Russian War." 'Wild West' In 2018, Russia banned Telegram although it reversed the prohibition two years later.
from es
