Main points
- Russian military personnel and bloggers are criticizing the Kremlin for restricting Telegram, which is important for coordination on the front.
- The Kremlin dismisses the messenger's importance to the military, despite concerns about communications and coordination of operations.
Russians complain about the blocking of Telegram / Collage of Channel 24 (Photo by Getty Images)
The Russian military has sharply criticized the Kremlin for restricting Telegram, which is critically important to the front. According to Western media, the occupiers use the app to coordinate operations, transmit coordinates, and track drones.
Moscow denies that the restrictions could affect combat operations, The Telegraph reports.
How do Russians react to restrictions?
Russian soldiers, military bloggers, and propagandists criticized the authorities after Roskomnadzor imposed strict restrictions on Telegram.
According to media reports, the messenger is widely used by the occupiers at the front to transmit target coordinates, communicate between units, and warn of the approach of Ukrainian drones.
The restrictions have caused particular outrage amid communication problems among Russian troops, particularly after reduced access to Starlink.
For example, the Kremlin's military correspondent Alexander Sladkov stated that they do not have the means to win.
“The West gave us a two-day knockout by disabling Starlink, and now we are hiding this control and communication channel. So what exactly should we win with, what tools? Nonsense and TA-57 field phones (a Soviet leading analog device)?” said Sladkov.
Pro-war bloggers and journalists also warn that the Kremlin's new steps could further complicate coordination and worsen the situation on the front.
Thousands of soldiers will be left without communication, which, against the backdrop of the ongoing offensive, will lead to fatal consequences,
– warned one of the Russian war correspondents
What do they say in the Kremlin?
The Kremlin rejects claims about the importance of Telegram for the military. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Telegram has no impact on communications at the front.
“I don't think it's possible to imagine that front-line communication is provided using Telegram or some messenger. It's difficult and impossible to imagine,” Peskov said.
At the same time, the restrictions on Telegram are part of a broader policy by Moscow to tighten control over the internet and promote state digital services. Critics believe that such moves could hit not only military communications but also the information space within Russia.
Not just Telegram: what is known about the blocking of Starlink by Russians?
-
The Ukrainian military sounded the alarm in late January 2026 when Russia intensified its drone attacks using satellite communications. They fired on logistics routes, and a civilian bus was hit. The Ministry of Defense took control of the situation and contacted SpaceX and Elon Musk personally.
-
The reaction was very quick. Musk wrote that the Russians would not be able to use Starlink and offered Ukraine additional assistance if it was needed. Later it became known that the occupiers' terminals had indeed stopped working. Only verified Starlinks, which are included in the “white lists”, are allowed to work.
-
Russian propagandists began to lie that the Ukrainian army also had problems, but this was not the case. Volodymyr Solovyov even threatened to “strike a satellite” and urged Trump to “call Musk and somehow influence him.” The enemy's offensive and assault actions in certain areas have decreased.