The decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) regarding the legality of Ukraine's 2017 blocking of Russian social networks Vkontakte, Yandex, and other platforms is a vital argument in favor of passing a law to ban Telegram.

This opinion was expressed by the fifth president of Ukraine, MP and leader of the European Solidarity party Petro Poroshenko, noting that the ECHR rejected four complaints in the case of Boyarov and Others v. Ukraine regarding the blocking of Russian internet resources on March 3, 2026.

"This is another reminder that in the war with Russia, there are no small things. And that important decisions regarding other information platforms have long been necessary. The most dangerous of them is Telegram. With the ECHR decision in hand, the current authorities can block this endless source of terrorist recruitment, information leaks, and the spread of Russian PSYOPs," Poroshenko wrote on Facebook on Thursday.

As reported, the Boyarov and Others v. Ukraine case concerns NSDC sanctions introduced on May 15, 2017, which provided for the prohibition of access to the social networks Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, as well as the Yandex internet portal and the Mail.ru email service.

Four applicants, who are users of these platforms, challenged the blocking under two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights: interference with freedom of expression (Art. 10 ECHR) and the right to respect for family and private life (Art. 8 ECHR). The ECHR considered these complaints and concluded that they did not prove the existence of a direct and significant violation of their rights. The ECHR drew attention to the context of the armed conflict ongoing since 2014 and recognized it as an "important factor" for assessing the state's actions.

The court's decision states that Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki are controlled by structures associated with Russian state-owned companies. According to the ECHR, this is a key element for assessing information security risks. The court also evaluated the applicants' argument regarding the sudden implementation of restrictions.