LIVE: Russia to Open Humanitarian Corridors Unilaterally Daily

Both Facebook and Twitter now allow calling for the death of Russian politicians and combatants - Daily Beast and Reuters

A memo obtained by the Daily beast says: “Based on the current safety guidelines on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, content wishing, hoping or calling for serious harm against leaders of the Russian government, military leaders, soldiers or para-military fighters will result in No Action.”

In regards to Facebook Reuters reports that a response by a META spokesperson (Facebook's parent company) said:  "As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as 'death to the Russian invaders.' We still won't allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians," a Meta spokesperson said in a statement.

It further added via an email sent to Facebook moderators: 

"We are issuing a spirit-of-the-policy allowance to allow T1 violent speech that would otherwise be removed under the Hate Speech policy when: (a) targeting Russian soldiers, EXCEPT prisoners of war, or (b) targeting Russians where it's clear that the context is the Russian invasion of Ukraine (e.g., content mentions the invasion, self-defense, etc.)," it said in the email.

"We are doing this because we have observed that in this specific context, 'Russian soldiers' is being used as a proxy for the Russian military. The Hate Speech policy continues to prohibit attacks on Russians," the email stated.

Meta via their spokesperson Joe Osborne has gone as far as allowing praise for the neo nazi Azov Battalion by saying: "for the time being, making a narrow exception for praise of the Azov Regiment strictly in the context of defending Ukraine, or in their role as part of the Ukraine National Guard."

Zelensky says that weapons of mass destruction were not developed in Ukraine

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that no one in Ukraine developed weapons of mass destruction.

"No chemical or any other weapons of mass destruction have been developed on my soil. The whole world knows this," he said Thursday evening in a video message.

Zelensky also said that the laboratories in Ukraine "remained from Soviet times and are engaged in ordinary science" and not military technology.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that 30 biological laboratories that worked with pathogens of dangerous infections operate on the territory of Ukraine as part of joint programs with the Pentagon.

The Pentagon denied this claim, pointing out that the United States is not developing biological weapons on Ukrainian soil. At the same time, US Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland noted that there are facilities for biological research in Ukraine and Washington is concerned that "Russian forces may try to gain control over them."

The State Department says that the United States is ready to support any diplomatic efforts of Ukraine

State Department spokesman Ned Price said on Thursday that the US authorities will support any attempts made by Kiev to diplomatically resolve the situation in Ukraine, but so far "doubt the readiness of the Russian Federation for a serious negotiation process."

"We are ready to support all diplomatic initiatives in which Ukrainians are ready to take part," a State Department spokesman said at a briefing, answering a question about how the United States views the idea of ​​negotiations between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine.

At the same time, a representative of the State Department issued a statement that the United States considers Moscow "unprepared for serious negotiations."

Interpol has no plans to exclude Russia, but will change procedure for its requests

Interpol will not exclude Russia from the organization, but will change the procedure of considering its requests, the international organization said in a statement, obtained by TASS.

"INTERPOL’s Constitution calls on the Organization to maintain police cooperation and ensure communication channels remain open," the organization said. "INTERPOL’s mandate does not include issuing sanctions or taking punitive measures, nor is there any provision in the Constitution for the suspension or exclusion of a member country."

However, "diffusions can no longer be sent directly by NCB Moscow to member countries." Moscow must now send all diffusions to the General Secretariat to be checked for compliance with INTERPOL’s Rules, the document says.

"Additional measures may be taken on an urgent basis by the Secretary General if the need arises," Interpol said.

Explaining its position, Interpol said that "preventing any member country from sharing vital policing information would provide criminals with clear opportunities to both commit crimes and evade capture, creating a gap in global security and safety."

"Law enforcement leaders from around the world have also requested continued cooperation with Russia via INTERPOL, highlighting serious security and safety concerns if information sharing is stopped," the statement says.

Over 7,000 foreigners held hostage by Ukrainian neo-Nazis - Russian ministry

More than 7,000 foreigners from 21 countries are held hostage by Ukrainian neo-Nazis, chief of the Russian National Defense Management Center Mikhail Mizintsev said on Thursday.

"More than 7,000 citizens of 21 foreign countries are still being held hostage by Ukrainian neo-Nazis," he said.

According to the official, those countries have already issued formal applications to Russia's inter-agency coordination center. Regretfully, the Ukrainian side practically ignores official and unofficial requests from international partners, he added.

Russia to open humanitarian corridors to Russia unilaterally every day

Russia will unilaterally open humanitarian corridors from the areas of the special military operation in Ukraine every day, Mikhail Mizintsev, chief of Russia’s National Defense Management Center, said on Thursday.

"We are saying it officially that humanitarian corridors in the direction of Russia will be unilaterally opened without any agreements from 10:00 a.m. every day, and upon agreement with the Ukrainian side in other directions," he said.

"Please note that, in order to rule out gathering of intelligence about the location of Russian Armed Forces units, every convoy will be checked for communication devices. Phones and other communication measures are allowed only for representatives of the International Red Cross Committee; they are prohibited to all other officials. Should they be discovered, they will be seized," he said.

According to Mizintsev, security is guaranteed on territories controlled by Russian troops. "We ask the International Committee of the Red Cross and the United Nations to work closely with Ukrainian authorities on the ground to inform the population about this Russia’s initiative," he stressed.

He stated that the humanitarian situation in Ukraine continues to worsen.

"The civilized West and the international organizations led by it still remain distanced from the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Ukraine, while ordinary Ukrainians and foreign citizens remain victims of neo-Nazism that has effectively consumed the Kiev power," Mizintsev said.

Sanctions would be slapped on Russia in any case - Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence on Thursday that the West would have imposed sanctions against Russia in any case.

"I have no doubts whatsoever that these sanctions would still be imposed at all events, the way they have been imposed over the past many-many years," Putin said.

He stressed that after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, many restrictions and the so-called CoCom (Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls) lists remained in effect and were ‘inherited’ by Russia.

"Everybody was taking money with pleasure for the loans that all republics of the Soviet Union took during the Soviet era," he noted.

At the moment, the sanctions pressure is comprehensive and creates certain problems and difficulties for Russia. "We will overcome these problems and difficulties this time as we used to overcome them in the previous years," Putin summed up.

Western Union stops money transfers in Russia and Belarus from March 24

Western Union payment system will stop money transfers in Russia and Belarus from March 24, the payment system’s press service reported.

"Western Union has decided to stop making money transfers in Russia and Belarus. In this regard, the Western Union payment system stops conducting operations in the Russian Federation," the press service said,

LLC NBFC Western Union DP Vostok, the operator of the payment system in Russia, applied to the Bank of Russia with a statement on the exclusion of Western Union DP Vostok from the register of payment system operators from March 24, 2022.

Money transfers sent from Russia to other countries and not paid to recipients before March 24, 2022 will be available to recipients in other countries at any time, according to the press service.

"Money transfers sent to Russia and not paid to the recipient before March 24, 2022, will be returned to the sender. We would like to emphasize that LLC NBFC Western Union DP Vostok operates in strict accordance with all the requirements of Russian legislation, and all obligations to partners, contractors and clients will be fully implemented," the press service said.

Cabinet Bans the Export of Over 200 Goods in Russia

The Russian government has made a list of goods and equipment previously imported into Russia from abroad, which are temporarily banned from being exported from the country, the cabinet’s press service announced on Thursday.

"The list includes technical, telecommunication and medical equipment, vehicles, agricultural machinery, electrical equipment - more than 200 items in total, including railway cars and locomotives, containers, turbines, metal and stone processing machines, monitors, projectors, consoles and panels," the statement says.

The restriction will remain in effect until the end of 2022.

"This measure is necessary to ensure stability in the Russian market," the cabinet stressed. The decision was made in pursuance of the Presidential decree "On application of special economic measures in the field of foreign economic activity to ensuring the security of the Russian Federation".