FILE PHOTO: An attendee takes a photograph of a sign during Facebook Inc's F8 developers conference in San Jose, California, U.S., April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Stephen Lam

(Reuters) - Facebook Inc said on Monday it had removed multiple pages, groups and accounts linked mostly to Russia that were used to spread misleading information on the social network and its Instagram service.

The company deleted 97 accounts from Russia that focused on Ukraine and another 21 that focused on Austria, the Baltics, Germany, Spain, Ukraine and the United Kingdom, Facebook said in a blog here post.

The social media company had in March removed 2,632 pages, groups, and accounts from Facebook and Instagram linked to Iran, Russia, Macedonia and Kosovo for similar reasons.

The move comes as Facebook tries to curb the use of the network for propaganda in the wake of rising regulatory scrutiny.