A Russian drone targeted the office of the private broadcaster Vizyt TV in Kremenchuk, Poltava oblast, overnight on 22 October. The strike caused significant damage to the building and started a fire. Because of the damage, the TV channel has temporarily stopped producing news.
Vizyt reported that they would remain on air, but would temporarily halt the release of news bulletins.
“Due to technical circumstances, Vizyt TV is forced to temporarily halt the production and release of news bulletins. For now, the channel continues to broadcast, but news bulletins will temporarily be absent from the air. We are doing everything we can to restore the newsroom’s work as soon as possible and return to the usual format of informing the people of Kremenchuk,” the channel’s statement reads.
Poltava Oblast Military Administration Chair Vitaliy Diakivnych reported on his Telegram channel that the strike had caused a fire.
As journalist and Kremenchutska Hazeta chief editor Oleh Bulashev told IMI’s regional representative Nadia Kucher, the broadcaster’s office is located in central Kremenchuk, amid many residential buildings.
As reported by Kremenchutska Hazeta, the worst damage was sustained by the office of the channel’s editor Iryna Skrypachova and by the newsroom, where the editorial team worked.
Vizyt said that the seven employees were in shelter during the attack. No one was injured.
Because of the extensive destruction and damage to equipment and infrastructure, the complex had to halt operations. Full operation can not be resumed at present.
The Russian strike on Kremenchuk (Poltava oblast) overnight on 7 October damaged the homes and a car belonging to two journalists from local news outlets.