Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ An immediate ban on the use of Telegram, ordered by the Russian MOD, is going to have disastrous effects on the Russian army's communications and fundraising, according to Russian warbloggers. ⬇️

2/ Telegram plays a central role in Russian military communications (see the thread below). Although Russia does have a secure military messenger, in practice its usability is so limited that soldiers from privates to generals all use Telegram instead.

3/ It's unclear why the Russian MOD has imposed an immediate ban on military use of Telegram after earlier indications that the imminent banning of the app in Russia itself would not extend to Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine.

4/ One possibility is that it may have been precipitated by the spectacular hacking and leaking by the Ukrainians of the mobile phone of Major General Roman Demurchiev, which has revealed a morass of corruption and brutality at the top of the Russian army.

5/ 'No Pasaran' writes:

"I'm getting reports from all over that Telegram has been banned by order in the troops. Oh well. We're soldiers, it's not our fault. Orders in the army aren't discussed, they're carried out."

6/ "This could lead to a serious and lengthy disruption to the work of virtually all volunteer organizations helping the front, because all horizontal connections would be severed in one fell swoop.

It's a shot in the foot.

We're approaching the bottom."

7/ 'Archangel of Special Forces' notes that even before the ban, Telegram was already severely degraded at the front:

"Against the backdrop of widespread internet outages across Russia, it's worth noting that communications at the front are also terribly unstable."

8/ "TG, which they promised wouldn't be [blocked] for service members, is intermittent, making communication with adjacent units very difficult.

9/ "Meanwhile, the enemy has taken advantage of the Starlink outage and the blocking of Telegram and has begun advancing toward the Zaporizhzhia sector. There seems to be no news, but Ukrainian forces are actively attacking.

10/ "Furthermore, problems are increasingly arising within our troops. Rumour has it that military police officers are now checking phones. Consequently, if something is wrong (in their subjective opinion), the standard measure is immediately taken—[sending to] an assault...

11/ "There are also problems with fundraising: it's practically stopped, volunteer organisations and soldiers are reporting this, and that's not good, because our front is supported by humanitarian aid—Mavics and various equipment. All of this comes from fundraising."

12/ 'Two Majors' confirms the ban, though they say erroneously that the state-sponsored MAX app is being promoted as an alternative (in fact, as the order makes clear, it's explicitly banned for operational use):

13/ "Instructions have been issued across the front to remove Telegram from phones. Our comrades have confirmed this information in private conversations. They write that the military police have been tasked with checking phones.

14/ "If detected, as usual, [you will be sent to] join the stormtrooper ranks.

15/ "Naturally, MAX is being cited as an alternative. However, MAX has been banned in some special forces units. Although we see that a number of combat chats have already migrated to MAX. Telegram is slowing down.

16/ "And we could talk at length about the military messenger "Turtle," but it's still very inconvenient to use.

✨Ideally, of course, we'd have our own military smartphones, our own apps, and communications."

17/ The channel comments that if the leaked text of the order is "implemented in full and without fail, it's scary to imagine what will happen."

18/ "The traditional 'prohibit the use of smartphones by military personnel while performing their military duties' could simply lead to radio silence."

19/ 'Thirteenth' is furious with the officials behind the ban: "That's all you need to know about traitors in the leadership and freedom of speech in this country. We have no freedom of speech. And it's only going to get worse."

20/ "Telegram is responsible for hundreds of thousands of lives saved by our soldiers, as well as the lion's share of successes on the front lines.

21/ "When these idiots finally get it, stop spouting bullshit to everyone around them while covering their own asses, their kids studying abroad, their yachts, and the capital they’re amassing in this war—and actually provide the army with everything it needs—…

22/ …only then will constructive dialogue be possible.

It’s okay to make mistakes, but you can’t lie.

So you can kindly go take a long walk off a short pier, hand in hand with your military police." /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/nopasaran_2014…
🔹 t.me/rusich_army/28…
🔹 t.me/dva_majors/896…
🔹 t.me/dva_majors/896…
🔹 t.me/Z13_Separ/49018