Instagram users in Russia are told service will cease from midnight

FILE PHOTO: Meta logo is placed on a Russian flag in this illustration taken February 26, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

(Reuters) - Instagram users in Russia have been notified that the service will cease from midnight on Sunday after its owner Meta Platforms said last week it would allow social media users in Ukraine to post messages such as "Death to the Russian invaders".

An email message from the state communications regulator told people to move their photos and videos from Instagram before it was shut down, and encouraged them to switch to Russia's own "competitive internet platforms".