The Central Bank requires banks to set rates on ruble deposits at least 20% per annum, reports Kommersant . The information was confirmed by Frank Media and VPost sources. According to them, the regulator also recommends introducing early termination fees for new foreign currency deposits.

A decision has been made to block the social network Facebook (owned by Meta) in Russia, said Roskomnadzor in a statement. According to the department, this is a response to restricting access to Russian media. “Since October 2020, 26 cases of discrimination against Russian media and information resources by Facebook have been recorded.

Microsoft is suspending sales of goods and services in Russia, according to a statement issued on behalf of company president Brad Smith. He now called the protection of Ukraine's cybersecurity one of the main directions of the corporation. According to Smith, Microsoft employees, "like the rest of the world, are horrified, outraged and saddened by the images and news" from Ukraine and condemn the Russian special operation.

On March 4, the State Duma and the Federation Council adopted a draft amendment to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which introduces fines and criminal liability for Russians for disseminating “knowingly false information” (“fakes”) about the Russian army, for anti-war actions and appeals, as well as calls for sanctions against Russia.

Restaurant guide Michelin has frozen its projects in Russia. The first ever guide to Moscow was published only in October 2021 with the support of Mayor Sergei Sobyanin. "Given the magnitude of the current crisis, the Michelin guide teams have had to make the decision to suspend all referral services in Russia," the statement said. The guide will no longer promote Moscow as a gastronomic destination and update the list of its "star" places.

According to President Vladimir Putin, foreign partners who refuse to cooperate with Russia are harming not only the country, but also themselves. And Russia will eventually win, because it will acquire new competencies. Putin stated this at the flag-raising ceremony on the new Russian ferry, in which he participated online. “If someone does not want to cooperate with us within the framework of a single cooperation and harms himself in this way, he will, of course, harm us. But in what?

The State Duma adopted a package of laws aimed at maintaining the economy and citizens under sanctions. The changes provide for the expansion of the powers of the government. It will have the right to establish cases and procedures for writing off penalties accrued to public procurement suppliers, revise the terms of public procurement, make decisions on increasing the amount of social supplements for pensions and its additional indexation, changing the minimum wage and the living wage.

Yandex warned investors that it could face the risk of default if the holders of its bonds, due to the suspension of trading, activate the right to demand the repayment of debt obligations. The company currently does not have enough funds for this. We are talking about bonds maturing in 2025 for a total of $ 1.25 billion. If trading in Yandex shares on Nasdaq is suspended for more than five trading days, holders have the right to demand that the bonds be redeemed.

Night fire at nuclear power plants, control measures for foreign business and 15 years per fakes The main news on Friday night was the battles and fires at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, which was occupied by Russian troops by morning.

The State Duma adopted in the second and third readings a bill on punishment for spreading fakes about the actions of the Russian Armed Forces. According to the bill, spreading fakes about the actions of the Russian military is punishable by up to three years in prison.

First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said that the government has developed three options for relations with foreign companies that have decided to leave the Russian market, according to the government's website. The first option is that the company continues its full-fledged work in Russia, ensures the full supply of raw materials, materials for the production process and fulfills its obligations to employees.

Early on the morning of February 24, Vladimir Putin addressed the Russians and announced the start of a " military operation " in Ukraine. The Bell is broadcasting the consequences of this decision online for the ninth day in a row. 23:44 TASS:⚡️According to Roskomnadzor, access to Twitter is restricted in Russia. 23:13 ❗️The United States is considering a ban on oil imports from Russia - Bloomberg.