Moscow Says Troops In Ukraine Defending Its Citizens

GENEVA (AP) — Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russian troops that have streamed into Ukraine are protecting his country's citizens living there.

Lavrov says it's necessary to use Russian troops in Ukraine "until the normalization of the political situation."

He told an opening session of the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva today that Russia is committed to human rights and "military interventions on the pretext of civilian population produce the opposite effect."

Ukraine has accused Russia of a military invasion, and has called on Kremlin to withdraw its troops.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's Internet monitoring agency has blocked 13 Internet pages linked to the Ukraine protest movement that helped oust the country's Russia-leaning president last week.

Roskomnadzor says in a statement published online that it's been ordered by the general prosecutor's office to shut down the pages on Russia's leading social media website. The agency says the groups "propagandized the activity of Ukrainian nationalist groups," and accused them of encouraging "terrorist activity" and "participation in unsanctioned mass actions."

The largest pro-demonstration group, which has more than 500,000 members, is not accessible to users on Russian territory today.

While much of Russian media is state-controlled, the Internet has so far remained largely free from censorship and has provided an active forum for anti-government criticism.