Russian regulators said Friday that the country’s internet users will be blocked from accessing Instagram, saying it’s being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers.

In Moscow’s latest move to restrict access to foreign social media platforms, communications and media regulator Roskomnadzor said in a statement that it’s restricting national access to Instagram. It said the platform is spreading “calls to commit violent acts against Russian citizens, including military personnel.”

Roskomnadzor cited a Thursday tweet by Meta spokesman Andy Stone conveying a company statement saying it had “made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules on violent speech, such as ‘death to the Russian invaders’.”

Stone’s statement followed a Reuters report that Meta was making a temporary change to its hate speech policy to allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion.

The statement stressed that the company “still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”

Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which also owns Instagram, defended what it described as a temporary decision “taken in extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances.”

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UK sanctions Russian lawmakers

LONDON —- Britain has slapped sanctions on 386 Russian lawmakers who recognized two regions of eastern Ukraine as independent, the precursor to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss says the Duma members who voted to recognize the independence of Luhansk and Donetsk face a U.K. travel ban and a freeze on any assets they have in Britain.

Truss said U.K. sanctions were targeting “those complicit in Putin’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and those who support this barbaric war.”

Friday’s announcement follows through on Britain’s promise two weeks ago to sanction the Duma members.

Britain has also slapped sanctions on Russian banks and on 18 wealthy individuals.

Russia widens social media crackdown by blocking Instagram

Russian regulators said Friday that internet users will be blocked from accessing Instagram because it’s being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers, in Moscow’s latest move to tighten up access to foreign social platforms.

The communications and media regulator, Roskomnadzor, said in a statement that it’s restricting national access to Instagram because the platform is spreading “calls to commit violent acts against Russian citizens, including military personnel.”

Facebook parent Meta Platforms, which also owns Instagram, didn’t respond immediately to a request for comment.

Roskomnadzor specifically cited a Thursday tweet by Meta spokesman Andy Stone conveying a company statement saying it had “made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules on violent speech, such as ‘death to the Russian invaders’.”

Stone’s statement followed a Reuters report that Meta was making a temporary change to its hate speech policy to allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion.

The statement stressed that the company “still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians.”

Russian has already blocked access to Facebook, limited access to Twitter and criminalized the intentional spreading of what Moscow deems to be “fake” reports, as part of President Vladimir Putin’s crackdown on social media and news outlets like the BBC.

Big tech companies, meanwhile, have moved to restrict Russian state media from using their platforms to spread propaganda and misinformation, especially for European users.

Google has blocked European users from viewing YouTube channels operated by RT and Sputnik, which TikTok has disabled their European accounts. Meta has barred Russian state media from Instagram and Facebook.

Warsaw overwhelmed as it becomes key refugee destination

WARSAW, Poland  — Warsaw’s mayor is appealing for international help as the city becomes overwhelmed by refugees, with more than a tenth of all those fleeing the war in Ukraine arriving in the Polish capital.

Some seek to wait out the war or settle in the city, while others merely use Warsaw as a transit point to head further west, turning its train stations into crowded hubs where people are camping out on floors.

“We are dealing with the greatest migration crisis in the history of Europe since World War II. … The situation is getting more and more difficult every day,” Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said, adding that “the greatest challenge is still ahead of us.”

The welcome Warsaw has given Ukrainians as the neighboring nation struggles to resist Russia’s invasion is wholehearted. Across the city, people have mobilized to help. They are taking Ukrainians into their homes, gathering donations and volunteering at reception centers. City monuments and buses fly Ukraine’s blue-and-yellow flag in solidarity.

But the challenge is enormous. Much of the burden so far is being carried by volunteers taking time off work, a situation not sustainable in the long run.

U.S., allies  revoke ‘most favored nation’ status for Russia

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden announced Friday the U.S. will dramatically downgrade its trade status with Russia as punishment for its invasion of Ukraine and also ban imports of Russian seafood, alcohol and diamonds.

The broad trade shift, which revokes the “most favored nation” status for Russia, is being taken in coordination with the European Union and Group of Seven countries.

“The free world is coming together to confront Putin,” Biden said from the Roosevelt Room of the White House.

Stripping most favored nation status from Russia would allow the U.S. and allies to impose higher tariffs on some Russian imports, increasing the isolation of the Russian economy.

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Civilian casualties keep rising in Ukraine war

GENEVA — The U.N. human rights office says it has documented 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries so far following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying the toll and “general human suffering” are rising.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization said Friday it has verified 29 attacks on health care facilities, workers and ambulances in the hostilities, including a high-profile one on a maternity hospital in southeastern Mariupol on Wednesday. In those, 12 people have been killed and 34 injured, WHO spokesperson Dr. Margaret Harris said in an email.

The figures from the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, which run through the Feb. 24 start of the fighting to midnight Wednesday, focus on civilians in general. It uses a strict methodology and counts only confirmed casualties. It acknowledges that its tally is likely to underestimate the real toll.

“Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide area effects in or near populated areas,” spokeswoman Liz Throssell told a U.N. briefing.

“Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering,” Throssell said.

U.S., U.K medical team brings aid, medical equipment

LVIV, Ukraine — A team of U.S. and U.K.-based doctors and nurses have begun a tour of medical facilities in Lviv, offering help and advice to Ukrainian doctors during the Russian invasion.

The team of nine brought in aid and medical equipment in 167 bags, including ventilators, ultrasound machines and gas masks, worth about $500,000, said Zaher Sahloul, a Chicago-based doctor.

“There is huge shortage of medical supplies and equipment, especially for trauma, and medication for chronic diseases,” he said. “It looks like the healthcare system is about to collapse because of the impact of the war, the huge displacement of the population, and the large number of injured people in many areas in Ukraine.”

Sahloul is a native of Syria and has visited that war-stricken country several times, working with volunteers and medical staff to establish or restore health services in opposition-held areas heavily bombed by the Russian air force over the years.

Sahloul said Ukrainian doctors mostly need basic supplies, such as tactical first aid kits. He said that, like in Syria, many of the doctors in Kyiv are working in basements to avoid being targeted by Russian forces.

Indian medical students return home safely from Ukraine

NEW DELHI — Hundreds of Indian medical students who sheltered in bunkers while Russia shelled a Ukrainian city have returned home to bouquets and hugs from their parents in emotional scenes at New Delhi’s international airport.

Thousands of Indians studying in Ukraine suddenly found themselves in the middle of a war after Russia invaded the country last month.

The group arriving home Friday were studying in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy.

“It was very, very scary for us,” Lakshyaa Dahiya, a medical student, said. “Seeing this much army with tanks… it was very dangerous also. We will not forget that thing ever, in our whole life.”

Arindam Bagchi, an External Affairs Ministry spokesman, said India has evacuated nearly 23,000 of its citizens, mostly students, from Ukraine.

Pressure on the Indian government to pull out its citizens intensified after one student died in shelling in Kharkiv last month.

Broadcasters resume reporting from Moscow

BERLIN — Two German public broadcasters say they will resume reporting from their Moscow studios, after halting operations following the approval of Russian legislation penalizing any reports that authorities deem to be fake information about the country’s military.

ARD and ZDF said last weekend that they were suspending reporting from Moscow while they examined the consequences of the measure, which foresees prison sentences of up to 15 years. Several other Western media outlets made similar decisions.

The broadcasters said Friday that they have now decided to resume reporting from their Moscow studios in the coming days on the “political, economic and social situation in Russia.” But reporting on the military situation in Ukraine will be done from other locations.

ARD and ZDF said they will be transparent about “the special conditions” of reporting from Russia.

China spreads Russian propaganda

BANGKOK — China is helping Russia spread inflammatory and unsubstantiated claims that the U.S. is financing biological weapons labs in Ukraine, the target of a Russian invasion.

The U.S. has refuted Russia’s conspiracy theory, and the United Nations has said it has received no information that would back up the allegations. But that hasn’t prevented the claims from proliferating.

The partnership between the two authoritarian countries appears aimed at muddying the waters of the rationale for Russia’s invasion — part of what American officials have called an “information war.”

China’s Foreign Ministry has helped fuel the fire this week, repeating the Russian claim several times and calling for an investigation into “the secret of the U.S. labs in Ukraine.”

Japan reports Russian navy maneuvers

TOKYO — The Japanese navy has spotted a fleet of 10 Russian warships crossing the Tsugaru Strait between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean, raising concern about increasing Russian naval activity in the region amid its invasion of Ukraine.

Japan’s Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters Friday that the fleet movement was believed to be part of Russia’s ongoing major naval exercises in the region since February.

He said the exercises are “apparently to show off its naval capability spanning from the East to the West, in unison with the Russian military movement in and around Ukraine.”

He renewed his condemnation of Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it a “barbaric act” that shakes the foundations of international order.

Kishi said Japan is watching the Russian military movement “with serious concern” and has raised its warning and reconnaissance levels.

Britain warns veterans, active military not to join fighting

LONDON — The British government is warning military veterans not to join the fighting in Ukraine and says any serving troops who go there will be court-martialed when they return.

Veterans Minister Leo Docherty wrote to British military charities urging ex-soldiers to support the Ukrainian people through donations and volunteering in the U.K.

He said Friday that “veterans always step up in times of need, but they must channel their skills, experience and passion into legal routes of support for Ukraine and not engage in the conflict.”

Ukraine has encouraged foreign volunteers to join the fight against Russia’s invasion. A handful of U.K. service members have reportedly gone AWOL to travel to Ukraine.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he sympathized with those wishing to go, but “we have very clear laws in this country. You shouldn’t go to Ukraine, and I’m afraid people going from our armed services … will face court martial.”

Russia said Friday it was planning to bring “volunteers” from countries including Syria into the conflict on its side.

Drone crashes in Croatia

ZAGREB, Croatia — A drone has crashed on the outskirts of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and is suspected of having flown all the way from the Ukrainian war zone.

Croatian authorities said Friday the overnight crash caused a loud blast but no injuries.

A statement issued after Croatia’s National Security Council meeting said the “pilotless military aircraft” entered Croatian airspace from neighboring Hungary at a speed of 700 kph (430 mph) and an altitude of 1,300 meters (4,300 feet).

That means the large drone flew at least 350 miles (560 kilometers) apparently undetected by air defenses in Croatia and Hungary. Both countries are members of NATO.

Military experts of The War Zone online magazine said that the aircraft is likely a Soviet-era Tu-141 “Strizh” reconnaissance drone that must have severely malfunctioned. They said that Ukraine is the only known current operator of the Tu-141.

 

NEW YORK — Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered that so-called volunteer fighters should be brought into Ukraine.

Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia knew of “more than 16,000 applications” from countries in the Middle East, many of them from people who he said helped Russia against the Islamic State group, according to a Kremlin transcript.

They want “to take part in what they consider a liberation movement,” Shoigu said, on the side of Russia-backed separatist regions in eastern Ukraine.

Since 2015, Russian forces have backed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad against various groups opposed to his rule, including Islamic State.

Putin told Shoigu that Russia should help would-be volunteers to “move to the combat zone” and contrasted them with what he called foreign “mercenaries” fighting for Ukraine.

Russia rearranges forces

LONDON — British defense officials say Russia is rearranging its forces on the ground in Ukraine in an attempt to push forward its struggling invasion plan.

The Ministry of Defence says that “Russia is likely seeking to reset and re-posture its forces for renewed offensive activity in the coming days. This will probably include operations against the capital Kyiv.”

In an update on social media Friday, the ministry said Russian ground forces continued to make “limited progress,” hampered by logistical problems and strong Ukrainian resistance.

It said it “remains highly unlikely that Russia has successfully achieved the objectives outlined in its pre-invasion plan.”

Ukraine tries to deliver humanitarian aid

LVIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities announced plans for several evacuation and humanitarian aid delivery routes Friday, with the support of the Red Cross.

The top priority remained freeing people from the besieged city of Mariupol and getting aid to its hungry, thirsty, freezing and terrified population.

Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video message that Ukrainian authorities are trying yet again Friday to send aid into Mariupol and bring evacuees out to the city of Zaporizhzhia. Repeated previous attempts have failed, as aid and rescue convoys were targeted by Russian shelling.

Vereshchuk said buses would be sent Friday to multiple Kyiv suburbs to bring people to the capital, and to bring aid to those staying behind.

She also announced efforts to create new humanitarian corridors to bring aid to people in areas occupied or under Russian attack around the cities of Kherson in the south, Chernihiv in the north and Kharkiv in the east.

 

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