Russian Telegram crashed on the evening of October 1 as news broke of a large-scale Iranian missile attack on Israel.

The problems affected various elements of the messenger: there was a delay in sending messages, a long download of media files and correspondence, as well as failures when working with channels.

Telegram channels have become one of the main sources of news in Russia as the Kremlin continues to crackdown on the opposition media and tightens its control over social media.

It should be noted that the failures coincided with the beginning of Iran's massive attack on Israel. Earlier, Iran fired several hundred missiles towards Israel. This happened almost simultaneously with the terrorist attack with the shooting at a tram stop in one of the districts of Tel Aviv.

As bne IntelliNews reported, YouTube’s download speeds were strangled at the end of July and both Telegram and WhatsApp were affected in August.

However, Telegram remains relatively free and uncensored in Russia as the Kremlin has failed toinsert itself into the app after trying to ban it in 2008 and control content or read users private messages. Telegram’s owner, tech entrepreneur Pavel Durov, has taking a principled stand that has resulted in minimum moderation and the routine refusal to cooperate with the authorities – both Russian and Western – to the point where he was arrested in France for refusing to cooperate with French investigation into the distribution of child pornography on the service.

The Russian public has followed the escalating violence in the Middle East very closely, as it runs in parallel to Russia’s war in Ukraine, both of which are seen by Russians as US proxy wars.

Iran has emerged as a key Russian ally as it suffers from the same extreme Western sanction’s regime as Russia and Tehran and Moscow have been driven closer together.

In recent days, the Kremlin has expressed deep concern about the escalating tensions in the Middle East, where Moscow maintains good relations with many Arab states, including Syria and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), which is nominally an enemy of Iran.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov warned that the risk of a wider war in the region is now "extremely high," especially following the Israeli airstrike that killed Hezbollah leader Hasan Nasrallah. Russia has consistently urged all parties to avoid actions that could lead to a broader conflict.

The Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement only an hour after the attacks started, it was a retaliation for Nasrallah’s death and those of many other top Hezbollah leaders in recent weeks.

Russia doubled down on its solidarity with Iran. This cooperation includes military and economic ties, with reports of increased Russian-Iranian defence collaboration, including the provision of drones by Iran to Russia for use in Ukraine. Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin was in Tehran only a day earlier to meet with the new Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian lock in a new large gas deal.

Despite this, Moscow has called for restraint and urged all parties to de-escalate tensions, while also condemning the actions of those who it believes are attempting to draw the US into further military involvement in the region.