Odesa-based journalist Ksenya Sitinska faced obstruction of reporting while carrying out an editorial assignment for Freedom TV: filming the aftermath of a Russian air strike at an apartment complex on 17 February.
She wrote about the incident on Facebook and elaborated in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Odesa oblast.
Sitinska sid that the apartment complex’s security guards barred the crew from filming the aftermath of the strike, saying they needed permission from the complex administration.
“When we said that we were accredited by the Ministry of Defense and legally allowed to work and film the consequences of Russian strikes at civilian facilities, the security said that it didn’t matter if we had permission from ‘God himself,’” wrote Ksenya Sitinska.
The journalist suggested calling the police if the filming crew was in violation of the law. However, the security did not do this, and the media workers continued to work.
She said that later, unknown men ran up to the filming location and tried to interfere with the journalists’ work as well. They did not show any ID documents confirming their authority.
The filming crew contacted the administration of the apartment complex and called the chief engineer, who was supposed to give them permission to film, but received no response.
In a comment to the IMI representative, the journalist specified that they had been approached at least three times. At first, the security guards demanded they stop filming and get permission. After that, one of them tried to cover the camera with his hand, but later walked away.
“We were able to collect the material for the news story, so we did not call the police or record the fact of obstruction separately,” she said.
The journalists were also barred from entering the building by two other persons who did not show their IDs, either.
Earlier, journalists with the news outlets Nakypilo and Dumka were barred from entering a Nova Post terminal to film the aftermath of a Russian air strike. They were only granted access after the security company’s management intervened. The issue was the security letting journalists in selectively despite the situation being the same.