Ukraine Russia Conflict: Russia to expel journalists from West if YouTube blocks access to Moscow’s foreign ministry’s briefings

Journalists from Western countries will be expelled from Russia if YouTube blocks access to Moscow’s foreign ministry’s briefings, the ministry said.

Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, who holds a weekly briefing, said the ministry had warned YouTube against blocking her content. Zakharova said, "We just came and told them: ‘You block another briefing, one journalist or American media outlet goes home. Another briefing is blocked and we will name a specific journalist or specific media outlet that will go home."

Moscow is working on measures against English-language media in response to what it considers “unfriendly actions” by foreign governments towards Russian news outlets. She did not provide further details, she said. 

Meanwhile, Russia on 24th February launched its invasion of Ukraine. And, according to the latest updates, Ukraine’s president and foreign minister have pleaded with the west to send more weapons to their military in the face of Russia’s intensifying assault on the eastern Donbas region. Russian forces have launched fresh assaults on towns in eastern Ukraine, with the city of Sievierodonetsk increasingly in danger of being totally encircled. Also, Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Moscow’s plan to simplify the process of handing Russian citizenship to residents of Ukraine’s Russian-occupied regions violates international law.