Kremlin says the Telegram messaging app has violated the law many times

The ​Kremlin said ​on Tuesday that ‌the authorities ​had recorded a large number of violations by ‌the Telegram messenger app and were taking appropriate steps in response to what it ‌cast as the app's unwillingness to cooperate ‌with Russia. Russia has launched an investigation into Telegram founder Pavel Durov as part of ⁠a ​criminal case ⁠on the "facilitation of terrorist activities", state-run media reported ⁠earlier on Tuesday, citing the Federal Security ​Service (FSB).

Telegram, which is widely used in ⁠Russia and across the former Soviet Union, has ⁠in ​recent days denied a host of allegations by Russia that the ⁠app is a haven for criminal activity and ⁠compromised ⁠by both Western and Ukrainian intelligence services.