Continuous condemnation of Russia's bombing of a Ukrainian nuclear plant and Moscow: part of a campaign of lies

Western officials condemned the continuous Russian bombing of Ukraine and the recent indiscriminate military attacks that targeted civilians and a nuclear power plant

While Russia denied these allegations, considering that they fall within the framework of the media campaign launched against it by Kyiv and Western capitals.

In a joint statement published by the US State Department on Friday, the foreign ministers of the seven major industrialized countries expressed their "deep concern" about the casualties caused by the "continuing Russian strikes" against the civilian population in Ukraine.

"We reiterate that indiscriminate attacks are prohibited under international humanitarian law. We will hold accountable those responsible for committing war crimes, including the indiscriminate use of weapons against civilians," the statement read.

For her part, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas Greenfield stressed, during an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, that the recent Russian bombing of the largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine posed a "tremendous threat to all of Europe and the world."

"Thank God, the world survived a nuclear catastrophe" at night, Greenfield said, describing the attack as "irresponsible" and "dangerous".

"Vladimir Putin has not only ignored calls to stop his invasion of Ukraine, and we have just witnessed a new dangerous escalation that poses a serious threat to all of Europe and the world," she added.

In turn, British Ambassador Barbara Woodward stressed, during the same meeting, that there is no doubt that "Russian forces were the ones who attacked" the Zaporizhia site, which includes the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

The official in charge of the Department of Political Affairs at the United Nations, Rosemary Di Carlo, also pointed out that "attacks on nuclear sites are inconsistent with international human rights law."

For his part, the Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, stressed the "importance" of nuclear power plants in Ukraine.

"I informed both sides, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, that I am ready to travel to Chernobyl as soon as possible," Grossi said, adding that "the two sides are studying" the possibility.

On the other hand, Moscow insisted on rejecting these allegations. Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia confirmed before the UN Security Council that Russia did not attack the Ukrainian nuclear site in Zaporizhia, which is a "false" accusation, accusing Ukraine of setting fire to this facility.

Accusing Russia of responsibility was considered "part of a campaign of lies" against Moscow.

Zaporizhia is known as the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, and one of the 10 largest in the world.

On February 24, Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine, which was followed by angry international reactions and the imposition of "tight" economic and financial sanctions on Moscow.

Russia Blocking foreign websites and imprisonment for spreading "false news" about the army

Russia's regulatory body announced on Friday the blocking of Facebook and a number of foreign news websites, against the backdrop of what it described as "discrimination" and spreading false news about the Russian army. Meanwhile, the Russian President passed a law imposing penalties of up to 15 years in prison for spreading false news about Russia.

Russia's regulator posted a post on its Telegram account, announcing that it had "taken the decision to block Facebook" starting Friday.

The authority accused the social network of "discriminating" against the Russian media, such as the Defense Ministry's Zvezda TV, RIA Novosti news agency, Russia Today RT global channel, Lenta.ru and Gazeta.ru websites.

A week ago, the authority announced "restricting access" and "slowing down" the operation of Facebook, after the network restricted the functions of Russian media accounts, which it considered "a violation of the basic principles of free media and Russian users' unhindered access to Russian media on foreign Internet platforms."

On the same level, the authority also announced the blocking of the British BBC, Deutsche Well, the independent Russian website Meduza, Radio Svoboda, the Russian branch of Radio Free Europe RFE/RL and other unnamed news websites.

In a related context, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in turn, signed a law stipulating prison sentences of up to 15 years for anyone who spreads false news about the Russian army.

He also signed a bill imposing fines or imprisonment on anyone who calls for sanctions against Russia.

In light of the recent measures and the law approved by the Russian Parliament imposing a prison sentence for anyone who publishes "false news" about the Russian army, the BBC announced on Friday the suspension of its journalists' work in Russia.

Commission President Tim Davey said the new legislation was "unfortunate" and "appears to criminalize independent journalism".

"This leaves us with no choice but to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC news journalists and support staff within the Russian Federation while we assess the full implications of these unfortunate developments," he added.