Telegram for Durov. Telegram app founder published a summons to a “suspect Durov” that appears to have been sent from occupied Donetsk

“They must be suspecting me of defending Articles 29 and 23 of the Russian Constitution—which guarantee freedom of speech and the right to private correspondence,” Durov wrote. “Proud to be guilty!”

The image he posted, however, contains several details that complicate the picture.

The addressee line on the slip reads “To Suspect Durov P.V.”, a very unusual line. This field is usually filled only with the recipient’s last name and initials. Pavel Khlyustov, a lawyer, told RBC that the phrasing struck him as irregular. The line is completed by the sender, so its wording proves only what the sender chose to write.

Mediazona took a closer look into the tracking code—namely, its first four digits: 2830. Under rules issued by the Russian Ministry of Communications, the opening six digits of a mail identifier correspond to the post office that accepted the item. The first three digits mark the region; 283 is assigned to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and codes beginning with 2830 belong to offices in the city of Donetsk itself. The address of the republic’s “Supreme Court”, for instance, is listed as 283015, Donetsk.

Hence, if the notice is authentic, the letter appears to have been posted not from Russia proper but from occupied eastern Ukraine.

Durov has faced mounting pressure from the Russian state over the past months. Amid an over attempt to block Telegram, in February two official newspapers, Rossiyskaya Gazeta and Komsomolskaya Pravda almost simultaneously published articles “based on the FSB materials” claiming that the security service was investigating Durov in connection with a case of “aiding terrorism”. No official statement surfaced, and Durov brushed it off as pressure campaign to justify the Telegram ban.