MOSCOW, April 4 (Reuters) - Telegram founder Pavel Durov said ‌on Saturday Russia's attempt ‌to block Virtual Private Networks ​triggered a problem with a domestic payment system, adding that tens of millions of ‌Russians were ⁠now resisting the digital controls.

The issue sowed ⁠chaos on Friday for some shoppers, forcing the Moscow ​metro to ​allow ​entry without payment ‌through its turnstiles, while a regional zoo had to ask visitors to use cash.

"Their blocking attempts just triggered ‌a massive banking ​failure," Durov said ​on ​Telegram. "Welcome back to ‌the Digital Resistance, my ​Russian ​brothers and sisters. The entire nation is now mobilised ​to ‌bypass these absurd restrictions."

(Reporting ​by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by ​Clarence Fernandez)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia and Ukraine traded deadly strikes overnight and on Saturday morning, killing 10 people and wounding several dozen more, officials on both sides said Saturday.

The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy traveled to Istanbul for talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He will also meet with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians.

“We are working to strengthen our partnership to ensure the real protection of lives, advance stability, and guarantee security in Europe and the Middle East. Joint efforts always yield the best results,” Zelenskyy said in a post on the messaging app Telegram after arriving in Istanbul.

Russia fired 286 drones at Ukraine overnight, 260 of which were downed, the Ukrainian Air Force said in an online statement.

Five people — three women and two men — were killed in the city of Nikopol in the Dnipropetrovsk region, and 19 others were wounded, the head of the regional military administration Oleksandr Hanzha said. The attack damaged market stalls and a shop.

In the city of Sumy, not far from the border with Russia, a strike wounded 11 people, the National Police said. Residential areas were hit, and houses, cars and utility networks were damaged in the attack.

In the capital, Kyiv, a drone strike caused a fire on the first floor of a three-story office and warehouse building, Ukraine's State Emergency Service said. No casualties were reported.

In the partially occupied Donetsk region, a Russian drone strike hit a civilian car on the Kostyantynivka–Druzhkivka road on Saturday morning, killing one woman and wounding another, according to the head of the Kostyantynivka City Military Administration, Serhiy Horbunov.

The Russian Defense Ministry claimed Saturday that its forces fired “long-range air- and ground-based precision weapons, as well as strike drones” at unspecified “military-industrial and energy facilities used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”

Meanwhile, the Russian-installed head of the occupied Luhansk region, Leonid Pasechnik, said Ukrainian forces hit railroad infrastructure in the region and private houses, killing a family of three — a couple and their 8-year-old child.

The Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU, claimed it used drone strikes to halt production at a metallurgical plant in the Russian-occupied city of Alchevsk in the Luhansk region, most of which is controlled by the Russian forces.

The SBU said on its Facebook page that drone strikes damaged blast furnaces, key production workshops, distillation columns, gas pipelines and electrical substations that power the plant, which supplies Russia’s state tank and railroad car plant, Uralvagonzavod.

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There was no immediate comment from Russian officials.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian military overnight shot down 85 Ukrainian drones over nine Russian regions, the annexed Crimea region and the Black Sea.

In Russia's Rostov region, on the border with Ukraine, one person was killed and four sustained injuries, according to the region's governor, Yuri Slyusar. The attack sparked a fire at a warehouse facility of an unspecified logistics company, and another fire on a dry-cargo vessel flying a foreign flag several kilometers from the shore, Slyusar said.

In the Samara region's city of Tolyatti, one person was wounded, Gov. Vyacheslav Fedorishchev said. The roof of a residential building was damaged and windows were shattered in several apartments, he said.

Robert Kiyosaki is telling his followers that the global stock market is collapsing.

The “Rich Dad Poor Dad” author used recent market volatility in Asia to argue that traditional paper assets are unsafe during geopolitical conflicts. In a March 4 Facebook post, Kiyosaki pointed to severe sell-offs across international exchanges as evidence for his long-standing financial philosophy.

“THE GLOBAL STOCK MARKET IS COLLAPSING,” he wrote.

He specifically highlighted the historic crash in South Korea. The benchmark KOSPI index fell 12% in a single day, marking the worst crash in the index’s recorded history. The drop was steeper than those seen during the 2008 financial crisis and the aftermath of 9/11.

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“South Korea’s KOSPI was the world’s hottest market just 5 days ago,” Kiyosaki noted. “It gained 45% in just 2 months. Analysts at JPMorgan and Nomura were calling for 7,500 and 8,000. Then one weekend of war… and 12% is gone in a single session.”

The sell-off was triggered by escalating conflict in the Middle East, particularly the closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran. The strait is a critical choke point for global energy supplies, carrying roughly one-fifth of the oil consumed worldwide.

South Korea relies heavily on foreign oil, making its economy vulnerable to disruptions in the Middle East. Following the news, trading on the Seoul exchange was temporarily halted as circuit breakers tripped. Shares of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dropped by 12% and 10%, respectively.

For Kiyosaki, the sudden loss of wealth in South Korea demonstrates the fragility of modern financial markets. “That’s what happens when you build wealth on paper in a world that runs on oil,” he wrote.

He also noted declines in other major indices on the same day. Japan’s Nikkei fell by over 3.6%, Germany’s DAX dropped 3.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 1,200 points at its lowest point during the session. Nearly 90% of all S&P 500 stocks were in the red. Trillions of dollars in market value were wiped out in a matter of days.

Kiyosaki’s argument centers on a distrust of what he calls “paper assets.” He views stocks, bonds, and retirement accounts like 401(k)s as promises made by corporations, governments, and Wall Street.

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In his view, those promises fail during geopolitical instability. “Promises break during wars,” he warned.

This perspective is a core part of the financial philosophy he has promoted for decades. Kiyosaki distinguishes between paper assets, which rely on institutions, and “real assets,” which he claims are “nobody’s promise but nature’s.”

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He broke down the risk profile of common investments for his followers: “Your stocks? A promise from a corporation. Your bonds? A promise from a government. Your 401k? A promise from Wall Street.”

While traditional markets declined, Kiyosaki pointed out that Bitcoin was rising. The cryptocurrency hit $71,000, up 6.5% in 24 hours. He noted that the sudden price jump liquidated $320 million in short positions held by traders betting against the digital asset.

“Meanwhile Bitcoin dropped to $63,000 on day one of the war,” Kiyosaki observed. “And has already come all the way back to $71,000. Not because the war is over. But because Bitcoin has no CEO to panic. No government to debase it. No Strait of Hormuz to shut it down.”

Kiyosaki uses this contrast to reinforce his investment thesis. He argues that wealthy individuals prepare for market crashes and use them as opportunities to buy assets that others are selling.

“The rich don’t celebrate crashes. But they DO prepare for them,” he stated. “And when the crash comes — they’re the ones buying what the panicked middle class is desperately selling.”

“Right now, global markets are teaching the world’s most expensive financial lesson,” Kiyosaki wrote. His conclusion is that investors need to diversify away from the traditional financial system.

He urged his followers to move their wealth into assets outside the control of central banks and political leaders. “Diversify into assets that governments cannot print, politicians cannot promise, and wars cannot destroy,” he advised.

His preferred assets are gold, silver, and Bitcoin. He categorizes these as real assets that hold intrinsic value, unlike fiat currency or corporate stock.

The recent market volatility illustrates the unpredictability of equities. The South Korean crash showed how quickly sentiment can shift and how interconnected global markets react to localized conflicts. The reliance on the Strait of Hormuz for oil shipments means that any disruption in the region can have immediate and severe consequences for economies heavily dependent on energy imports.

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Whether the current downturn represents the massive collapse Kiyosaki has predicted remains to be seen. Some of his followers pointed out that US futures and European markets showed signs of a rebound shortly after his warning.

“This aged well…all green now,” one user commented. Another added, “Robert check your phone bud all markets are green today.”

For Kiyosaki, short-term bounces don't change his underlying view. He considers the system of fiat currency and paper assets to be fundamentally flawed. He frequently refers to the US dollar as “fake money” and warns about the national debt.

The recent events in the Middle East and the shockwaves through Asian markets serve as a real-time example for his warnings. When geopolitical tensions rise, the stability of the stock market can be tested quickly. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz demonstrated how geopolitical events can instantly devalue paper assets that rely on global trade and stability.

Kiyosaki’s advice is to prepare for these events by acquiring assets that aren't tied to institutional promises. He views gold, silver, and Bitcoin as the only reliable stores of value in a volatile world.

Kiyosaki's message underscores the value of real assets like gold and silver—wealth that isn't tied to governments or corporations. Platforms such as Metals.io let investors buy physical gold and silver, offering a tangible way to diversify portfolios and hedge against market volatility.

Read Next: Before you make an offer, ask these 6 questions every homebuyer should know — or face serious regret later.

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MOSCOW, April 3 (Reuters) - The Kremlin is pushing Russians to use state-backed messenger service MAX, but some are wary about the service and say they do not want to download it at all.

In what has been cast by diplomats as Russia's "great ‌crackdown", Russia has repeatedly blocked mobile internet and granted sweeping powers to cut off mass communications while jamming messaging services and ‌virtual private networks.

In their place, Russia has aggressively promoted MAX, which casts itself as a "national messenger" and is owned by a company whose boss is the son of one of ​Putin's top aides.

'I TRY TO USE IT AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE'

For some Russians, the corralling is a step too far.

Irina Matveeva, a saxophonist in Moscow, installed MAX because she needed it to communicate with her students.

"But I am not happy with this situation," Matveeva told Reuters at the Rhythm & Blues Cafe in Moscow where she plays in the "Good Gollys" band. "I try to use it as little as possible."

Matveeva said the blocking of Telegram was confusing and annoying, and ‌described the frustrations of switching between different messaging apps ⁠while grappling with VPNs and internet jamming.

Ten other Russians expressed similar scepticism about MAX. Another two said they enjoyed using it and had largely forgotten Telegram and WhatsApp, which are partially jammed in Moscow.

OFFICIALS CHAMPION 'NATIONAL MESSENGER'

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Russian officials say ⁠a national messenger is needed because hostile intelligence services have penetrated foreign messaging applications such as Telegram and that Moscow has to ensure security with a push towards a "sovereign" internet.

MAX's owner, VK, did not reply to a request for comment. It said on March 26 that MAX had added 107 million users since ​it was ​launched a year ago, and that the app was used across the world ​including Russia and former Soviet states, as well as Asia, ‌Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.

Opposition activists say Russian security services have access to data on MAX and that artificial intelligence scans the data to watch for potential threats to the state - and even to understand domestic opinion and dissent.

One Russian who gave his name only as Danil said he was happy to support a domestic messenger and that he used MAX without concern.

But others are perturbed after years of enjoying the relative freedom of messaging.

"I intentionally ask my inner circle not to download it because Telegram is closer to me," Olga Kravets said.

Russians have a long history ‌of quietly resisting censorship, from sophisticated satire under the Tsars to the clandestine ​publishing and copying, or "samizdat", of banned poetry and literature in the late Soviet period.

APPS 'SHOULD BE ​A PERSONAL CHOICE'

One Russian said that she was forced to download ​MAX because the state service portal known as Gosuslugi - which administers everything from passports and driving licenses to university ‌entrance and hunting permissions - demanded a confirmation number be sent ​to the app.

"I kept it on ​my phone to use it in case everything else is shut down. But I do not plan to use it," said Anna, who refused to give her second name given the sensitivity of the situation.

Denis Kuskov, the head of the TelecomDaily information portal, said he ​felt it was wrong to demand the entire ‌population downloaded MAX before the app was working perfectly.

He was not installing it for now.

"Not because I am afraid to do ​so," he said. "But because I believe that installing an app or ordering a service should be a personal choice."

(Reporting by Ekaterina ​Maksimova and Evgeniy Matveev; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

For one Russian volunteer in the Ukrainian army, it was not a fear of bombs or bullets which nearly stopped him from joining up. It was his beloved grandmother.

“Babushka [grandma] is the biggest problem in this whole story,” call sign Reagan*, a young soldier in Ukraine’s Freedom of Russia Legion, tells The Telegraph.

“She was worried, so much I thought maybe I shouldn’t join so as not to upset her,” he says. “She was doing my nerves in, saying you are going to die, I am going to cry, all of this babushka stuff.”

He breaks into a cheeky grin. “I told her, we are all going to die eventually.”

After a fierce back-and-forth, he won his grandmother’s approval to slip into Ukraine, renounce Vladimir Putin’s regime and report for training in a unit created especially for Russian defectors.

But only after she extracted an important concession.

“She said, ‘You are stupid, but OK I agree, as long as I die first,’” he says. “That was the agreement, so I’m trying to keep myself, you know, alive.”

Born in Russia, Reagan had already emigrated to Europe by the time Putin invaded Ukraine.

He enjoyed a comfortable upbringing, throwing himself into acting and school theatre as well as political debates, which led to his legion comrades giving him the call sign of a former US president.

A keen computer gamer, he would often encounter Ukrainians while playing online and enjoyed chatting to them.

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Then came the invasion of February 2022, and with it an avalanche of propaganda which at times depicted his old gaming buddies as subhuman.

Disgusted by the scenes from Bucha, where residents were massacred by Russian troops in the early days of the war, he decided to go to Ukraine and fight Putin’s regime.

“I decided that this was wrong, and that I could help the Ukrainian people somehow,” he says. “So I wrote to the legion and asked if I could join, and explained that I was in Europe. They said, ‘OK, come in.’”

Founded in March 2022, the legion draws its ranks from Russian army defectors, as well as volunteers with no military background, such as Reagan.

The unit is estimated to be several hundred soldiers strong and is part of a wider array of about 3,000 Russian volunteers in the Ukrainian military.

The legion, known for its daring cross-border raids inside Russian territory, is led by Maximilian “Caesar” Andronnikov, a reformed ultra-nationalist who has cited Margaret Thatcher and Sir Winston Churchill as his political heroes.

The process to join the legion was relatively easy for Reagan as he had already left Russia. After a background check, he was invited to cross into Ukraine by land, bearing his Russian passport and evidence of his intent to join.

Once across the border, he reported for a brief period of training before being dispatched east as an electronic warfare specialist.

For some of his other Russian comrades, it was not so straightforward. One of them, initially conscripted into the Russian army, had to strip and cross a minefield to reach the Ukrainian side of the border.

When he reached the first Ukrainian city, he managed to track down a policeman who helped put him in touch with the legion.

Reagan says he cannot give too many details of the work he does, for security reasons.

But in essence, his job is to scan the battlefield for clusters of electronic activity, such as mobile phone or internet signals which betray the location of a Russian troop placement or drone base.

He then sends the information to his commanders, at which point a Ukrainian drone or missile may target the Russians, who often haplessly give away their position to his scanning devices.

The job demands some unexpected skills, such as climbing: “In the legion, sometimes you are in the trenches in an assault or infantry job. And sometimes you are climbing up a pillar in the middle of a destroyed village to install your equipment and look out for enemy drones,” he says. “It is not very heroic stuff to talk about.”

It is a modest statement for a young man who abandoned a comfortable life in Europe as a Russian emigré to fight Putin’s regime.

“As a Russian, I felt responsibility for what my citizens had done and what the government has done,” he says.

“I would also say that you cannot separate the people from the government of a country because one creates the other. So I felt I had to do something.”

The mission statement of the legion is to topple the Putin regime and usher in a new, moderate government with no imperialist designs on its neighbours.

Reagan says he has found it relatively easy to integrate into the Ukrainian ranks, even if sometimes he needs to explain how he, a Russian citizen, ended up on their side.

That ethos is summed up in the legion’s uniform patch, a modified version of the Russian flag with blue and white colours, instead of blue, white and red.

For Reagan, the best way to bring down Putin is “death by a thousand cuts”, with every volunteer making a small contribution to slowly draining away his power. “We like this strategy, where everyone does their part and then one day, the final cut comes and it kills,” he says.

The legion also works closely with anti-Putin partisans inside Russia, with Reagan alluding to recent operations where his comrades helped to destroy Russian train supplies and military ships, including the Serpukhov corvette which caught fire in July 2024.

Ukrainian security experts say this is partly why having Russians serving in the Ukrainian army has proven, perhaps counter-intuitively, to be good for morale.

“These volunteers demonstrate there is an active opposition and real struggle against the regime,” says Olesia Horiainova, the deputy head of the Ukrainian security and cooperation centre.

“They do not just take part in military operations but also debunk the myths of Russian propaganda and create the foundation for the formation of a future Russian democratic opposition.”

The bigger challenge, she says, is convincing Ukrainians and the wider West that there is more to the people of Russia than atrocities, imperialist conquests and ultra-nationalism.

“I cannot say there are lots of Russians, but there are what we call responsible Russians in Russia,” she says. “They do exist.”

As it happens, Reagan’s grandmother is one of them, as she has believed ever since Putin’s 2008 war on Georgia that he was leading the nation into catastrophe.

As clear a sign as any, perhaps, that responsible Russians should always listen to their babushkas.

*The Telegraph is withholding any personal details which could be used by the Russian army to identify him or his relatives

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