Ukraine-Russia Conflict: Russia restricts Google News service, accusing of false news

Amid the ongoing crises between Russia and Ukraine, Russia's media regulator has restricted access to the Google News service. Russia accused Google has been providing "false" information about Russia's offensive in Ukraine.

The move has been taken under the request of the Russian General Prosecutor's Office, the country's media regulator Roskomnadzor in a statement said the online news service "provided access to numerous publications and materials that contain false information... about the course of the special military operation on Ukrainian territory," the statement said.

Google "confirmed that some people are having difficulty accessing the Google News app and website in Russia and that this is not due to any technical issues on our end," a company spokesperson said.

"We've worked hard to keep information services like News accessible to people in Russia for as long as possible," Google added.

Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government has seized its control over information on the internet. 

Meanwhile, it's been one month since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Thursday Western nations will warn the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, that his country will pay “ruinous” costs for invading Ukraine during an unprecedented one-day trio of Nato, G7, and EU summits that will be attended by the US president, Joe Biden. Zelensky said he hoped for “meaningful steps” at the round of summits, noting they would reveal “who is a friend, who is a partner, and who betrayed us for money”.The Ukrainian president also called for a global rally to protest Russia’s war on Ukraine, urging citizens of the world to publicly stand against the war. About 150,000 people are stuck in the northern city with little hope of aid after Russia cut them off from the capital, Kyiv when a key bridge was bombed on Wednesday.