Actually does

Claimed, but not confirmed by reviews

✗Blocked in Russia — app doesn't work without VPN/Proxy50% of mentions
«Doesn't work without paid VPN. What's the point of updating Telegram in RuStore?»
✗App crashes, freezes, and force closures30% of mentions
«Why does the app keep crashing? It won't load at all.»
✗Issues logging into account15% of mentions
«I can't log in. I try to install, enter the country and phone number — nothing works after that»
✗Message loss in sync (disappears after months)5% of mentions
«Messages in the channel periodically disappear over entire months, only reinstalling helps»
✗Unfinished updates, regressions15% of mentions
«Hasn't worked for three days after the update. The new update 12.8.3 doesn't work»

★Best messenger for functionality and ease of use
«The best messenger I've ever seen and used. This app is not for you for nothing»
★Completely free without intrusive ads
«Telegram can be used for free, without expensive subscriptions and intrusive ads»
★Message delivery speed
«This is the undisputed leader (app)»
★Works well with VPN/Proxy enabled
«Enable proxy and everything will be fine»
★Huge community, popularity
«800 million users, ranks in the top 10 most downloaded»