CLICK HERE to listen on podcast platforms worldwide
Support this broadcast: become a patreon!

The founder and CEO of social media and communications app Telegram, Pavel Durov was arrested in France on August 24th. The country, one of the Nine Eyes intelligence partners along with the U.S., UK, Australia and others, claims that the social media app is a hotbed for illegal activity, and Western media coverage blasts it as a tool of the Russian government. But the attack on Telegram is actually a testing ground for future attacks on encrypted messaging platforms and alternative news sources.

Then later in the show, we discuss the invasion by Ukrainian forces funded with U.S. dollars and using British tanks into the Russian territory of Kursk. The incursion marked the first significant breach of the Russian border by Ukrainian ground forces in the nearly two-and-a-half years since the immediate conflict began and follows a pattern of missile strikes and minor raids into Kursk and neighboring Belgorod since February 2022. Is this the sequel to the Ukrainian counteroffensive of 2023 that was hyped up by Western media and governments but ultimately failed to make a significant difference?  How do these developments figure into the longer history of the conflict, going back to 2014 and even further into history? And what prospects are there for peace rather than further escalation into a global conflict?

We’re joined by investigative journalist Kit Klarenberg to talk about all that and more.

Read Kit’s article Britain’s Kursk Invasion Backfires?


Listen to this episode and all CovertAction Bulletin episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Amazon Music and other podcast platforms. New episodes are distributed worldwide on all podcast platforms on Wednesdays at 9am EST.

To support the Bulletin, consider becoming a patron for as little as $3 a month; give as little as you must, and as much as you can. It is your support that makes the Bulletin possible.

Visit CovertAction Bulletin at our patreon site: https://www.patreon.com/CovertActionMagazine and select a membership level. Becoming a patron gives you early access to the full episode as well as exclusive, supplemental content and interactive features with hosts and interviewees.

We also air a shorter version of CovertAction Bulletin weekly on Wednesdays at 9AM EST on WBAI 99.5FM in New York City, right after Democracy Now!


CovertAction Magazine is made possible by subscriptionsorders and donations from readers like you.

Blow the Whistle on U.S. Imperialism

Click the whistle and donate

When you donate to CovertAction Magazine, you are supporting investigative journalism. Your contributions go directly to supporting the development, production, editing, and dissemination of the Magazine.

CovertAction Magazine does not receive corporate or government sponsorship. Yet, we hold a steadfast commitment to providing compensation for writers, editorial and technical support. Your support helps facilitate this compensation as well as increase the caliber of this work.

Please make a donation by clicking on the donate logo above and enter the amount and your credit or debit card information.

CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and your gift is tax-deductible for federal income purposes. CAI’s tax-exempt ID number is 87-2461683.

We sincerely thank you for your support.


Disclaimer: The contents of this article are the sole responsibility of the author(s). CovertAction Institute, Inc. (CAI), including its Board of Directors (BD), Editorial Board (EB), Advisory Board (AB), staff, volunteers and its projects (including CovertAction Magazine) are not responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. This article also does not necessarily represent the views the BD, the EB, the AB, staff, volunteers, or any members of its projects.

Differing viewpoints: CAM publishes articles with differing viewpoints in an effort to nurture vibrant debate and thoughtful critical analysis. Feel free to comment on the articles in the comment section and/or send your letters to the Editors, which we will publish in the Letters column.

Copyrighted Material: This web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. As a not-for-profit charitable organization incorporated in the State of New York, we are making such material available in an effort to advance the understanding of humanity’s problems and hopefully to help find solutions for those problems. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. You can read more about ‘fair use’ and US Copyright Law at the Legal Information Institute of Cornell Law School.

Republishing: CovertAction Magazine (CAM) grants permission to cross-post CAM articles on not-for-profit community internet sites as long as the source is acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original CovertAction Magazine article. Also, kindly let us know at info@CovertActionMagazine.com. For publication of CAM articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: info@CovertActionMagazine.com.

By using this site, you agree to these terms above.


About the Author

2 COMMENTS

  1. @Bruce, very important to note that your source “Radio Free Europe” is a project of the US government started by the CIA. This article has multiple factual errors, including that suggesting Telegram generally has “encryption of communications” – in channels and group chats, nothing is encrypted. Only in one-to-one direct messages where you turn the feature on are messages actually encrypted.

    Unfortunately, this is one of many falsehoods told about Telegram. The platform certainly has issues, but we have to consider the attacks on it to be part of a greater geopolitics – otherwise Mark Zuckerberg would also be under arrest for the things that happen on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp!

Leave a Reply