Ukraine’s largest university has banned the use of Telegram for official communications, marking a new effort to limit reliance on the Russian-founded messaging app, which Ukrainian authorities consider a national security threat.

The decision to restrict Telegram use among faculty members at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (KNU) follows a recent ban on the app for official devices used by state and security officials, military personnel and employees of critical infrastructure facilities.

Ukraine’s defense intelligence officials have previously said that Russian special services could have access to Telegram users' personal data, including their correspondence and deleted messages.

According to a decree signed by KNU’s chancellor, university employees are now prohibited from using Telegram for any work-related communication, and all Telegram channels, bots, and accounts associated with the university must be deleted.

The decree was initially leaked by a popular university Telegram channel, but university officials later confirmed its authenticity and made a public statement on KNU’s official social media channel, encouraging students to vote for alternative apps for communication. After a day of voting, Instagram and WhatsApp received the most support.

Universities in Ukraine rely heavily on Telegram. Students and teachers use it for both personal and professional communication, as well as making announcements, discussing assignments, sharing study materials and coordinating group projects or study sessions. Almost every student-led organization and faculty at KNU has its own Telegram channel.

Although students are still allowed to use Telegram for personal communication, some have complained that they cannot load the app on the university Wi-Fi or in the dormitories. Several students anonymously confirmed to Recorded Future News that this worries them the most:

“We use Telegram not just to talk about our studies. We check on our friends and families, follow the news, and, of course, use it to get notifications about drone and missile strikes,” one of the students said.

Despite the app’s popularity in Ukraine, the decision to ban Telegram for professional purposes didn’t cause panic, as both students and professors had alternative communication platforms but often chose Telegram as the most convenient one, they said.

“The idea of shutting down Telegram has come up in Ukraine more than once. But now, the urgency and feasibility of it are at an all-time high,” KNU said in an official statement.

Several other Ukrainian universities, including National Aviation University and Ukrainian Catholic University, also spoke out about the Telegram ban. Despite the recent wave of restrictions, it remains unclear whether the app will be banned at the national level, as it is widely used by state officials and allows ordinary users to receive air threat alerts and report potential Russian spies and the movement of enemy military equipment.