Russia says it detained teenagers recruited by Ukrainian intelligence through Telegram dating bot

Source: Investigative Committee

Russian authorities detained several young men and women in Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Leningrad region, and other regions between August and October after Ukrainian intelligence services recruited them through the Telegram dating bot Leonardo Daivinchik to carry out acts of sabotage, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee.

Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko described several cases of teenagers drawn into carrying out acts of sabotage. In one case, she said, a teenager bought flammable liquids and set fire to several gas stations. Other cases involved the arson of police department service vehicles and the arson of a transformer cabinet. All those detained face charges under Russia’s criminal statute against terrorism.

The FSB said it detained eight teenagers, ages 14 to 17, along with two adults, ages 19 and 24, in Moscow and St. Petersburg, as well as the Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Ryazan, and Sverdlovsk regions, between August and October.

In late July 2026, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Pavel Durov of aiding terrorism. The agency said the Telegram founder’s messaging app had failed to remove bots used by Ukrainian intelligence services. Among other things, the agency said Ukrainian intelligence services had drawn young Russians into “sabotage and terrorist activity” through the popular Telegram dating bot Leonardo Daivinchik.

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 reports@meduza.io.

To read Meduza’s exclusive content in English, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Why is it
important
to support
Meduza
now?Read here

Russia says it detained teenagers recruited by Ukrainian intelligence through Telegram dating bot

{{ header_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}

Russia says it detained teenagers recruited by Ukrainian intelligence through Telegram dating bot

{{{ alt }}}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }} {{ second_title }}

{{ title }}

{{ second_title }}