The head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of Ukraine rules out blocking Telegram

The head of the center for countering disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andriy Kovalenko, said that it is now impossible to block Telegram in the country. Earlier, members of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech spoke about the need to block the messenger in Ukraine during a round table.

“It is impossible to ban/block Telegram in Ukraine, and now this issue is not raised that way. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about,” Mr. Kovalenko wrote on Telegram.

The head of the center called for a separation between reading media and personal communication in the messenger. “Reading media and using a messenger to communicate and sending sensitive documents are two different things,” he emphasized.

Mr. Kovalenko said that pro-Ukrainian media “knocked out” pro-Russian Telegram channels from the information space of Ukraine. According to him, this is an important component of information security. He noted that the authorities need to work wisely with these media to protect Ukraine from stuffing and information and psychological operations of the enemy.

On February 28, a press release was published on the Verkhovna Rada website following a round table organized by the Committee on Freedom of Speech. The message said that the roundtable participants were convinced that it was necessary to look for ways to ban Telegram in Ukraine.

Erdni Kagaltynov