The Telegram messenger may stop working in Russia even when accessed through a VPN.

Axar.az reports Andrey Svintsov, deputy chairman of the Information Policy Committee of the State Duma, said the country’s regulator has the technical capability to monitor VPN traffic.

He noted that Roskomnadzor can track VPN activity and that Telegram will also be slowed down when used through such services.

“If anyone thinks people will simply download a VPN and continue using the messenger, I’m afraid that won’t work,” he said.

Svintsov added that only legal VPN services used for media-related work may remain available in Russia.