Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor asked several Russian media outlets to delete information about Moscow's military operation in Ukraine it deems misleading.

The reason, according to the watchdog, is that the outlets provided "unreliable information of public interest" that does not correspond to reality about the "shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army."

The watchdog particularly referred to "materials in which the ongoing operation is called an attack, an invasion, or a declaration of war," and warned that if the information is not deleted, it will restrict access to these resources. 

Notifications were sent to Echo of Moscow, inoSMI, MediaZona, New Times, Dozhd, Svobodnaya Pressa, Krym.Realii, Novaya Gazeta, Journalist and Lenizdat, according to Roskomnadzor's statement.

The only reliable information, the watchdog said, are those disseminated by official information sources.

False information

On Thursday, social media users falsified video game footage depicting a close battle between two fighter aircraft, saying the film showed the Ukrainian air force shooting down a Russian fighter jet.

One tweet read, “Footage of a MiG-29 of the Ukrainian Air Force shooting down a Su-35 fighter jet of #Russia’s Air Force over Ukraine’s capital #Kyiv today."

The Ukrainian Defense ministry also posted the clip with the false caption.

The footage is from the digital battlefield game Digital Combat Simulator, according to YouTube user "Comrade Corb", who posted it on Feb. 24.

Russian Ministry of Defense chief spokesperson Major General Igor Konashenkov also said on Thursday that Ukraine's Security Service is preparing and carrying out provocations using the methods of the "White Helmets" in Syria, by staging fake videos depicting "mass casualties" amid conflict.