Anomalies indicating that Telegram is being blocked in Russia reached 95 percent by the morning of April 10, according to data from the international research project OONI, as reported by Agentstvo, an independent Russian investigative outlet.
That is the highest share recorded since the new restrictions on the messenger began, and Telegram is now being blocked more aggressively than WhatsApp or Signal, the outlet reported.
The services Downdetector and Sboy.rf both recorded a sharp spike in user complaints about Telegram around 8–9 a.m. on April 10. Users reported that messages were failing to send and media files were not loading.
Since early March, users in Russia had been noticing that Telegram was working increasingly poorly and was becoming nearly inaccessible without a VPN. Video calls on the app, as on WhatsApp, had been restricted since the summer of 2025. According to sources cited by several outlets, the authorities had planned to block Telegram entirely by April 1. OONI data showed that the blocking had already intensified sharply by March 20, with tests showing anomalies in 72 percent of cases, meaning the messenger was accessible only one time in three.
At Meduza, we are committed to transparency about our use of artificial intelligence in the newsroom. The story you’re reading was written by one of our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an AI model configured to follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is the result of extensive testing and refinements to ensure our English-language coverage is timely and accurate. A Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.
If you find any errors in this translation, please contact us at [email protected].
To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.
