In an interview with the Charter Radio station on Sept. 7, Kyrylo Budanov, who heads Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Military Intelligence (GUR), stated that the Telegram messenger is a threat to the country’s national security, reported RT. He admitted that Telegram has become the main source of information in Ukrainian society, “outperforming everything else,” and GUR’s research has ostensibly confirmed it.
He admitted that although shutting down Telegram would be difficult (but feasible), at this time he advocated that any anonymity be eliminated, and he advocated that, “all Telegram channels” be obliged to establish a physical presence in Ukraine. “If you want to, so to speak, disseminate some news, please register, so that everyone understands that this channel is registered by Ivanov Ivan Ivanovich, a Russian citizen, who resides in Moscow,” he complained. He argued that thus Telegram channel administrators would bear responsibility for the content posted on it.
