Russian authorities are not planning to restrict the operation of Telegram in the zone of the special military operation in Ukraine, Digital Development Minister Maksut Shadaev said at a meeting of the State Duma committee on information policy.

Shadaev stated that a decision had been made not to impose limitations on the messenger in the SVO area at this time. At the same time, he expressed hope that Russian servicemen would gradually switch to domestically developed alternative communication platforms.

He recalled that at the outset of the special military operation Telegram had been widely used within Russian Armed Forces units as a relatively anonymous channel of communication. Now, however, there is information suggesting that foreign intelligence services may have gained potential access to correspondence, which could be used against Russian personnel, the minister noted.

Shadaev also explained that the earlier decision to slow down Telegram’s performance in Russia had been taken by Roskomnadzor due to repeated violations of legal requirements.

The issue of battlefield communications has surfaced in other contexts as well. In early February 2026, SpaceX founder Elon Musk said the US company was actively countering the use of Starlink terminals by Russian forces. Ukrainian Defense Minister Mikhail Fedorov confirmed cooperation between Kiev and SpaceX on the matter.

On February 17, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexey Krivoruchko stated that the disconnection of Starlink terminals had not affected the command and control system of the Russian Armed Forces in the SVO zone.