Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Kyiv-based lawyer and head of the Center for Civil Liberties, called Durovโs position "very weak," and urged concrete improvements. The next bit isnโt clear, but Durov reportedly claimed that his resignation, dated March 21st, was an April Foolsโ prank. TechCrunch implies that it was a matter of principle, but itโs hard to be clear on the wheres, whos and whys. Similarly, on April 17th, the Moscow Times quoted Durov as saying that he quit the company after being pressured to reveal account details about Ukrainians protesting the then-president Viktor Yanukovych. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been a driving force in markets for the past few weeks. Stocks dropped on Friday afternoon, as gains made earlier in the day on hopes for diplomatic progress between Russia and Ukraine turned to losses. Technology stocks were hit particularly hard by higher bond yields. But the Ukraine Crisis Media Center's Tsekhanovska points out that communications are often down in zones most affected by the war, making this sort of cross-referencing a luxury many cannot afford.
from jp