Spokesman Nick Clegg, head of global affairs (and former head of England's Liberal Democrats), says Facebook is simply allowing Ukrainians to express their "resistance and fury at the invading military forces," adding that it does not mean the company tolerates "discrimination, harrassment or violence towards Russians" on its platform.

Clegg said the move is a "temporary decision taken in extraordinary and unprecedented circumstances."

On Thursday, Reuters reported that Facebook "will allow Facebook and Instagram users in some countries to call for violence against Russians and Russian soldiers in the context of the Ukraine invasion."

Meanwhile, Russia has opened a criminal investigation against Meta Platforms and Facebook while also moving to ban Instagram from the country, after this week Facebook said it changed its hate speech policy to allow for calls of violence against Russians in the context of the invasion of Ukraine.