"Do TeBe" claims Vuhledar official from accused the channel of being corrupt

On May 17 in the town of Vulledar (Donetska oblast), the first deputy of the local town mayor Yevhen Matviyenko called journalist Olha Dmytrychenko and camera operator Pavlo Habeliuk from the TV channel “Do TeBe” (Donetsk branch of the National Public TV and Radio company of Ukraine) “corrupt” in public. The incident took place at an open session of the architectural and town development council in the town council.

The Donetsk regional administration of the National Public TV and Radio company of Ukraine released a statement describing this incident. According to it, the filming crew was prepared to cover the council session about the infrastructure development in Vuhledar.

The vice-mayor refused to communicate with the journalist further saying it was "unpleasant" for him to talk to her. The company administration demands from the vice-mayor either evidence that the journalist and the channel in question are really corrupt, or an apology for his behavior. In general, such conduct is called "inadmissible" in the statement, and constitutes obstruction to professional journalist activities.