Working on the front line and in the de-occupied territories: accreditation restored to the media who applied for its restoration

Accreditation for working on the front line and in the de-occupied territories were first restored to those editors and journalists who had applied for their restoration.

This was stated by the head of the UAF Department of Public Relations, Colonel Bohdan Senyk, in his comment to an IMI representative.

According to him, the second step will be to restore accreditation to the rest of the media and journalists who have been stripped of accreditation.

As IMI reported, "hromadske" journalists Anastasia Stanko and Kolyan Pastyk were given back their accreditation which give them the right to work in the de-occupied territories and in the combat zone.

Accreditation has also been restored to the SkyNews crew.

As IMI reported, several media representatives who had violated the rules of working in combat zones had their work permits revoked and their press cards invalidated by the Ministry of Defense. Namely, Hromadske journalists Anastasia Stanko and Mykola Pastyko, as well as some CNN and SkyNews journalists have been stripped of their accreditation. Suspilne and Hromadske's filming crews have also been working in Kherson after the liberation of the city. The Rada channel has also done a live stream from Kherson. "Ukrainska Pravda" photo correspondent Dmytro Larin and Telegraf UA photographer Yevheniy Zavhorondiy also reported being stripped of their UAF accreditation.

The General Staff noted that the order of the UAF Commander-in-Chief No. 73, dated 03.03.2022, is delivered to all media representatives as they are being given their press card.

On November 11, on the day Kherson was liberated, Operational Command "South" announced that mass media's access to settlements that were de-occupied in November 2022 would be temporarily restricted.

"Please note that work in the settlements located in the combat zone is regulated by the order of the UAF Commander-in-Chief No. 73, dated 03.03.2022; non-compliance with this order may become grounds for a journalist's accreditation being revoked. These settlements will be accessible no sooner than the defense forces complete stabilization efforts," the military stressed.

Journalists and media CSOs demand that the accreditation revoked for reporting from Kherson be restored.

Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar, said that the ban and restrictions on the entry/exit of civilians and even journalists to the liberated Ukrainian cities are due to safety precautions. She also reminded that there is a procedure for accredited journalists to work under martial law.