Russia’s communications regulator is blocking access to Facebook in the country following efforts by its parent company, Meta, to clamp down on state media over the war in Ukraine.
In a statement issued March 4, the regulator, Roskomnadzor, cited 26 cases of “discrimination against Russian media and information resources by Facebook” that have taken place since October 2020. Twitter is also being blocked, according to Russian news agency Interfax.
Roskomnadzor has also blocked access to Radio Free Liberty and Radio Europe websites, and the Russian sites of the BBC and Deutsche Welle. The moves could further restrict Russians’ access to news that isn’t state-sanctioned as the war in Ukraine escalates.
Aeroflot, Russia’s largest airline, will suspend all flights abroad from March 8 — except flights to Minsk, Belarus — Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported Saturday.
Passengers with return tickets to Russia will not be allowed on international flights from March 6 if the departing flight is scheduled from March 8 “to mitigate the risks of impossibility to use return flights to Russia,” according to the report.
It comes after the majority government-owned carrier’s ability to sell seats was crippled on Thursday after being removed from the global distribution system, marking the latest measure against Russia's aviation industry after most of the western world closed airspace to Russian aircraft.
