Russia-Ukraine updates: US to ban Russian carriers from its airspace

Two social media misinformation campaigns found to be exploiting tensions in Russia and Ukraine were identified and disabled on Facebook over the weekend, according to two senior leaders at the social network's parent company Meta.

One operation thwarted by Meta's security team involved about 40 accounts described as "inauthentic," some with profile pictures suspected to have been generated artificially, Threat Disruption Director David Agranovich told reporters Sunday night. The fictitious personas operated across the internet, Meta employees said, including on Twitter, YouTube, Telegram and two Russian social media networks.

The operation also included fake websites resembling news outlets that claimed to be based in Kyiv, with the people behind the sites posing as news editors and expert sources. It was connected to a campaign previously detected and taken down by Facebook in April 2020. At the time, the activity was found to have come from Russia, the Donbass region of Ukraine and two media organizations in Crimea.

Another operation involved the specific targeting of Facebook accounts belonging to members of the Ukrainian military, as well as politicians and a journalist. The profiles were used to share YouTube videos portraying Ukrainians as weak and surrendering to Russia after the accounts were compromised, which Meta said was likely done through personal email.

One video appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers coming out of a forest waiving a white flag.

The Meta employees did not disclose the total number of compromised accounts, only referring to it as "a handful." They also did not reveal the names behind the accounts, citing privacy concerns.

Earlier this week, Russian state media was barred from running ads or monetizing the platform.

In response to calls for Meta to shutdown Facebook and Instagram, Vice President of Global Affairs Nick Clegg said the company does not want to restrict services for Russians who are protesting and organizing against the war.

"The Russian Government is already throttling our platform to prevent these activities," Clegg said in tweet Sunday. "We believe turning off our services would silence important expression at a crucial time."

-ABC News' Owen Quinn

Hundreds of demonstrators assembled outside the White House on Sunday to express support for Ukraine amid attacks from Russian forces.

Oksana Markarova, Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., said there was "no other place" she could be in this moment. Hundreds of Ukrainian flags were flown by demonstrators, who were singing and chanting their support for the bombarded eastern European nation.

"We're not ready to give up our dreams of freedom and we're not ready to surrender," Markarova said. "I don't have anything to say for Mr. Putin, but to the Russian people -- you know, this is time for the Russian people, if they don't want to be accomplices to these war crimes, to stand up and say it, because otherwise they are as guilty as their leadership who ordered and executed this brutal attack and started war in the 21st century in the middle of Europe."

Misha Kashlev, a Russian man who attended the rally with his wife, said those around Russian President Vladimir Putin need to act to stop the leader from causing more harm.

"I think you have a last chance now to take some action to stop this because your leader cannot," Kashlev said. "He is incapable of doing anything but trying to kill the entire world. So please, stop it. Stop your leader from taking some irreversible action."

A Ukrainian woman, Oksana Chuchvara, cried as she spoke of her sister, who is hiding in a basement shelter without supplies, as well as the children who are dying in Ukraine amid the violence.

Chuchvara fears Putin cannot be stopped, describing him as “the devil.”

"It's very sad,” she said. “It's like, like Hitler or something.”

Markarova later expressed the sentiment of the crowd, saying, “Just pray for Ukraine and support us."

-ABC News’ Kelly Livingston

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's office announced it will send 40 million pounds (nearly $53.5 million) in aid to "provide vital medical supplies and other help to Ukraine."

This is in addition to 100 million pounds (over $133 million) in aid given to Ukraine so far this year, according to the prime minister's office.

Johnson's office also said "any person settled in the U.K. will be able to bring their Ukrainian immediate family members to join them here."

"This will benefit many thousands of people who at this moment are making desperate choices about their future," the office said in a statement.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs released an update on the number of civilians who have been killed or wounded.

As of Sunday evening, 352 people have been killed, including 14 children, according to the agency.

There are 1,684 wounded civilians, 116 of which are children.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou