Berkut Fighters attacked journalists, tore away journalist ID stickers, and crushed cameras

In the evening of December 1, on Bankova street in Kyiv, fighters of the special task unit "Berkut" assaulted journalists; at that they were tearing away their ID stickers, were hitting them with truncheons and kicking them. Numerous reports about this incident were received by different media outlets and were posted in social media. One of those injured was a photographer, Oleksander Zakletsky. He got injures on his arms and legs, and his camera flare was crushed. His colleague, Anton Chernysh, a journalist from the Independent Media Trade Union, was assaulted by Berkut fighters, who snatched the camera from his hands and thrashed it to pieces.  

The Ukrainsky Tyzhden journalist Valeria Burlakova was injured during the confrontations near the Presidential Administration on Bankova Street.  One of the sound bombs blew up near her feet. She was treated by an ambulance team on site. 

The LB.ua media outlet informs that one of their correspondents was injured, too – by a smoke grenade. 

The LIGABiznesInform photojournalist Oleksander Perevoznyk was beaten by police officers when covering the protest rally on Bankova Street.  

Around 4 pm., when Berkut was pushing rally participants and instigators out of Bankova street to Instytutska street, the news photographer was attacked by about eight Berkut fighters. He was telling them he was a journalist but nobody listened.  Later one of them helped him to stand up and took him to volunteer medical doctors who provided him with first aid. Perevoznyk had a head injury and his camera was damaged. He also was exposed to the tear gas.  

On that same street, Berkut fighters cruelly beat Roman Kupriyanov, the Euronews TV channel camera operator. This was reported by his Euronews colleagues.

According to the journalists, Roman Kupriyanov was filming a man who was on the ground motionless after the Berkut’s attack on Bankova streetй. Berkut fighters ordered him to stop filming but he went on and then they beat him. Currently he is at hospital.

Another journalist injured on Bankova street by Berku fighters, Dmytro Prykhno from the Information Agency ‘Poriad z vamy’, was taken to hospital with an injury to his head. According to the Information Agency’s editor-in-chief Oleksa Yaroslavtsev, he had badges, IDs and a camera.