Journalists say authorities do not allow them to report from the shelling site in Poltava
Journalists from several Ukrainian and international media outlets were not allowed to enter the site of the Russian missile strike in Poltava until the debris is cleared, reports Nadiya Kucher, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Poltava oblast.
According to the IMI representative, who was coordinating the journalists' communication with the Poltava City Council, the Poltava OMA, and other structures, the access denial was reported to her by Oleksiy Muzhchyna (who works with journalists from the Italian TV channel Rai), Nastya Horpinchenko (Investigation.Info), Andriy Lahutenko (war reporter with the TV channel " Espreso").
Other media representatives were also turned down.
The journalists told the IMI representative that they were barred from entering by the duty officer and the commander of the National Guard unit.
"UAF accreditation did not help. There are National Guard guys at the entrance, they have orders not to let us in," the journalists said.
According to the Institute of Mass Information director, Oksana Romaniuk, not allowing journalists to sites of Russian shelling until the debris is cleared is a violation of Part 4 of Art. 25 of the Law "On Information".
"Preventing journalists from accessing the site of the tragedy in Poltava, where over 50 people died, is a serious violation of the right to information. Even in wartime, the public has the right to know the truth about the current events. Safety concerns can be valid in an active combat zone, but here it looks like an attempt to limit the society's control over what happened. This situation looks like there is a risk of important information being hidden from the public, which, of course, we would not want to believe," said Oksana Romaniuk.
The journalists also complained to the IMI representative that they were not allowed to work in the hospital or talk to the victims. As the journalists reported, the press office of the Poltava OMA prohibited it.
The Russian missile attack on Poltava on September 3 killed over 50 people and injured nearly 300. The building of the Institute of Communications and the nearby hospital were hit. More people may still be under the rubble of the military institute.
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