Facebook parent company Meta said Friday it refused to comply with the Russian requirement to lift restrictions on the accounts of several Russian media outlets.

"Yesterday, Russian authorities ordered us to stop the independent fact-checking and labeling of content posted on Facebook by four Russian state-owned media organizations," Meta Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said in a statement.

"We refused," he declared, explaining that as a result, Moscow announced they would be "restricting the use of our services."

Meta had introduced restrictions on the accounts of several Russian media outlets, namely Zvezda, Lenta, Gazeta, and RIA Novosti. 

Russia responded via its media watchdog, who partially restricted access to Facebook all over the federation over its repeated censorship against Russian media and violating human rights.

The trouble Russia is facing comes after President Vladimir Putin authorized the national armed forces to conduct a special military operation in Donbass in light of the constant Ukrainian shelling of Lugansk and Donetsk.

The operation has been bombarded with false news as the West tries to demonize Russia through its operation in Donbass, and Meta's move blocks Russian outlets from sharing their side of the story.