Access to Facebook and BBC ‘blocked’ in Russia as Putin continues invasion of Ukraine – World News

Russia appears to have blocked access to Facebook and the BBC in its country amid fears that Vladimir Putin is preventing people from seeing Western coverage of the invasion of Ukraine

Russia appears to have blocked access to the BBC and Facebook as President Vladimir Putin blocks the public from viewing Western media.

Strict sanctions have been imposed on Russia after the invasion of Ukraine hit all sectors of the economy and affected the daily lives of people in the country.

And it appears the Russian state has hit back by blocking the BBC and Facebook, although this has not been confirmed.

BBC Russia said there had been reports there were problems accessing its website in Russia, but the Kremlin has not yet said it has banned the outlet.

And BBC Russia also said that the domain was not included in the register of banned sites, but the German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported in Russian that the BBC site is not working in Russia.

According to a tweet posted in Russian and translated into English by BBC Russian, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) also appears to be blocked in the country.

The series of tweets read: “Block tracking services are reporting that there are problems accessing the BBC Russian Service website in Russia.

“The domain is not listed in the Roskomnadzor Registry of Blocked Sites.”

Also apparently blocked are Russian- and English-language online newspaper and news aggregator Meduza, US government-funded broadcaster Radio Liberty, and Google Play.

Roskomnadzor is the Kremlin’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, which maintains an official mandatory list of websites banned in Russia.

It comes after the Kremlin accused the BBC of playing a “determined role in undermining Russia’s stability and security”.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova condemned the ban on Russian media RT and Sputnik, claiming the world was being deprived of Russia’s point of view and that Western media was taking only one side.

Her comments came hours after calls by UK government officials to ban the Kremlin-backed state broadcaster.

According to a translation by RT, Ms Zakharova said the only reason Russian journalists could still work in the UK was “linked to London’s fears that (the) BBC could be targeted in Russia for its determined role in the… Undermining Russian stability and security plays “.

She said: “We didn’t make that up because it goes back to what British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said.”

In response to her comments, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “You know the Prime Minister has previously spoken about the importance of an independent press and the fact that it is important for the BBC to be editorially independent and able to continue to do its excellent job. “

It comes as Britain’s watchdog Ofcom launched 27 probes into the “reasonable impartiality” of programs aired on news channel RT, formerly known as Russia Today.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said Thursday in the House of Commons that RT should lose its license and “never again” be able to air “toxic propaganda”.

Meanwhile, Truss warned on Monday that if RT shuts down in the UK, the BBC risks being banned in Russia.

She said “careful assessment” was needed as retaliation against the BBC would harm efforts to ensure Russians “know the truth” about the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, Russia’s Foreign Ministry tweeted: “Zakharova: Over the last few days, the true and not the declared value of so-called Western values ​​has become crystal clear.

“What is happening now in the information landscape is effectively depriving Russia of any opportunity to make its case.”

The BBC has noted a surge in Russian language service following the invasion of Ukraine. According to the company, the weekly average number of visitors to the channel’s Russian-language news website has more than tripled since the beginning of the year.

With sanctions imposed in Russia, some goods will also become unavailable as international companies decide to halt shipments, including Apple, which has suspended sales of all of its physical products from iPhones to Macbooks.

Apple has also restricted access to digital services like Apple Pay in Russia, and media like Russia Today and Sputnik News can no longer be downloaded from the App Store outside of Russia.

At the same time, Google has said it has blocked RT and Sputnik from its Play Store, while Twitter, Facebook owner Meta and YouTube have said they have blocked the channels within Europe.

Facebook and BBC have been contacted for comment.