The military refuse to accept responsibility for severe injury of Kryvyi Rih journalist, but are ready to treat him

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine received this statement as an official response to its request from the Public Relations Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Detector.Media reports. «Citizen V.V.Volk received the injury when a civilian – citizen Petrenko I.V. was showing him a technique to detain an offender in the course of filming a TV story for the TV and Radio Company «KR1» after the journalists of that media outlet suggested it. The filming of that TV story was not commissioned by the officials of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and was conducted during a break,» reads the letter signed by the head of the Public Relations Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Bohdan Senyk. The Ministry of Defense is ready to provide an opportunity to provide him necessary treatment for free in one of its hospitals. The case of Vovk’s injury is under investigation. The head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine Serhiy Tomilenko believes that the Ministry of Defense in its response shifts the attention from the injured journalist to the circumstances that are supposed to show that the incident was not related to the military and this shift suggests it is not safe for the journalists to arrange with the military about covering the army exercises. For the context, on July 6, in Kryvyi Rih, the camera operator of the city online media outlet “Pershyi Kryvorizkyi” Viacheslav Volk sustained a gunshot wound to his neck during the army exercises. The operational command ‘Skhid’ of the Armed Forces of Ukraine made a statement that the instructor, who wounded the camera operator, is a volunteer and has not connection to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.