Good evening. Moscow has issued a number of travel bans against prominent Americans including Vice President Kamala Harris and Mark Zuckerberg.
It came as a tit-for-tat move after the US imposed sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
Elsewhere, Moscow has claimed that the destroyed port city of Mariupol has been ‘liberated’ by Russian troops, despite an estimated 2,000 Ukrainian troops remaining in the Azovstal steel plant.
Below are the key updates from this afternoon – and you can read more on our live blog here.
1. Russia hits Mark Zuckerberg with travel ban
Russia on Thursday imposed a travel ban on Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans.
The Facebook chief was targeted after the company announced content restrictions around the conflict to stop the spread of Russian disinformation, including a crackdown on Kremlin-owned media outlets.
The move also saw the ban extended to Kamala Harris, the US Vice President, in retaliation for sanctions imposed over the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine.
The Russian foreign ministry said the travel ban, which also includes top Pentagon officials, US business leaders and journalists, would remain in effect “in perpetuity”.
2. Seven dead in Russian military research institute fire
A fire at a Russian military research institute in the northwestern city of Tver has killed seven people and injured dozens more, state news agencies reported.
Unverified footage shared on social media showed images of thick black smoke rising from inside the yellow four-storey building of the Central Research Institute of the Russian Air and Space Forces.
Several of the institute’s employees had to jump out of windows on the upper floors to escape the flames, according to witnesses quoted by broadcasters.
“Twenty six people were injured in the fire, five of them died,” a representative of emergency services told the RIA Novosti news agency.
Preliminary information suggests the fire was caused by faulty electric wiring, TASS added.
The defence ministry said the institute focuses on research related to Russian air and space defence, as well as the development of new anti-aircraft systems.
