Google to be banned in Ukraine’s occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions

Google's search engine is to be banned in the occupied Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk after pro-Russian authorities there accused the US tech giant of promoting "terrorism and violence against all Russians".

In a statement posted to the social messaging service Telegram, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said: "The inhuman propaganda of Ukraine and the west has long crossed all boundaries. There is a real persecution of Russians, the imposition of lies and disinformation."

He accused Google's search engine of being at the forefront of this effort, saying it "openly, on the orders of its curators from the US government, promotes terrorism and violence against all Russians, and especially the population of Donbas".

Announcing the decision to block Google, Pushilin added: "This is what they do in any society with criminals: they are isolated from other people. If Google stops pursuing its criminal policy and returns to the mainstream of law, morality and common sense, there will be no obstacles for its work."

The DPR and the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) have previously banned Facebook and Instagram, which have also been restricted in Russia after a Moscow court found Facebook owner Meta guilty of "extremist activity".

Russia, Syria and North Korea are the only UN member states to recognise the self-proclaimed republics in occupied Donetsk and Luhansk as legitimate authorities. The DPR and LPR were set up in 2014, and have been declared terrorist organisations by Ukrainian authorities in Kyiv.

Google has been contacted for comment.