Ukraine's Zelenskyy reportedly wrote to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg himself asking them to block Facebook in Russia

• Ukraine's Zelenskyy wrote letters to Zuckerberg and Sandberg about blocking Facebook in Russia.
• He also asked them to block Russian state media outlets in Ukraine, per Bloomberg.

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, said in late February that it would restrict certain Russian state media outlets in Ukraine, a move reportedly made after a personal request from Ukraine's chief of state.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote separate letters to both Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg asking them to ban Russian state-backed news organizations from posting on Facebook within his country's borders, according to a Bloomberg report.

But Zelenskyy also wrote asking Zuckerberg and Sandberg to ban Facebook and Instagram from within Russia's borders, a request that Meta has since denied.

Bloomberg's Wednesday report was largely about how Nick Clegg, the company's new vice president of global affairs, has risen in the ranks as Zuckerberg's right-hand policy problem solver. Per the publication, it was Clegg — not Zuckerberg or Sandberg — that responded to the letters that Zelenskyy sent.

Sources told Bloomberg that Clegg has kept Zelenskyy updated on Meta's attempts to aid Ukraine as Russian forces continue to invade the country. Meta did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine has had consequences across the world, including in the American tech industry. Social media companies like Facebook and Twitter are once again faced with handling challenging content moderation decisions surrounding a historic event.

Facebook began fact-checking posts of Russian state media outlets. According to Politico, a handful of them have posted stories on Facebook and Twitter containing false claims that Ukrainian military forces were the ones who launched unprovoked assaults on Russian-allied troops.

Protestors have pushed back on the characterization of Ukraine as the aggressor, including a Russian TV newscaster who interrupted a program with a sign reading "Don't believe the propaganda. They're lying to you here."

Clegg tweeted on February 25 that Russian authorities ordered Meta to stop independently fact-checking and labeling posts from the Russian state-owned media outlets. It refused, and Russia has since completely blocked access to Facebook and Instagram in the country.

Facebook has also blocked Russian state-backed media outlets from its advertising platform, as has Google's YouTube.