Media should have more access to the combat zone – Defense Ministry

Journalists need to be given more access to the combat zone without compromising the security of operations, said the Defense Ministry head of press and information, Illarion Pavliuk, on the national telethon "United News", reports Ukrinform.

"I believe it is crucial to give the mass media more access to the combat zone. But at the same time, I should note right away that we must not compromise the security of the operations. Accordingly, right now we are working to understand how to make this access easier, how to make the access policies more transparent, equally known to everyone, and how not to cause any harm by streamlining the access procedure," said Pavliuk.

He added that independent media should be given the opportunity to report more on the events in the front-line areas, in liberated towns and in the combat zone itself. The only caveat, according to him, is that it cannot be done quickly.

Pavliuk reminded that he had already had a meeting with Ukrainian and international journalists and that they are consulting with the General Staff.

"We need to build this mechanism responsibly. And I think it will be done," Pavliuk said.

We will remind you that the Institute of Mass Information and the media community plan to initiate a meeting with the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umerov, to discuss the issues with Ukrainian reporters' access to the frontline.

IMI and the media community plan to meet the head of the Ministry of Defense, discuss the streamlining of the approval process for the media to access the frontline, with increased accountability, and stress that reporters will be taking safety risks at their own discretion and are ready to bear responsibility for it.

They also plan to discuss the definitive answer as to who is responsible for working with the media and the establishment of inter-department coordination which would help prevent state bodies from shifting the responsibility onto one another in a circle.