Hunt for journalists

REN TV film crew came under artillery fire

On July 1, a REN TV film crew came under mortar fire near the Izvarino checkpoint in the Luhansk region, a kilometer from the border with the Russian Federation. As a result, special correspondent Denis Kulaga received a severe concussion, he can't hear anything, and his ears are bleeding. The cameraman Konstantin Yudin was also shell-shocked.

Murder in Donetsk of the operator of the First Channel

Anatoly Klyan died on the night of Monday June 30 from a gunshot wound to the stomach. The incident took place near the military unit, where the film crew came to make a report. The military opened fire, and Klyan was mortally wounded in the stomach. The bus driver was also wounded as a result of the shelling. Despite the injury, he was able to bring the bus to the building of the regional state administration.

The journalists rode in a bus together with the mothers of conscript soldiers, who intended to get their sons back home. "Those who fired were not going to see it or hear the calls of their mothers. They just shot at a moving car that did not pose any threat," Vladimir Makovich, speaker of the DPR Supreme Council, said.

Anatoly Klyan was awarded the Order of Courage posthumously.

Murder of VGTRK journalists near Lugansk

On June 17, VGTRK special correspondent in Ukraine Igor Kornelyuk, video engineer Anton Voloshin and cameraman Viktor Denisov came under mortar fire while working near Lugansk. All journalists were wearing identification marks with the inscription "Media". At the time of the shelling, the militia tried to take a group of refugees out of the danger zone. Operator Viktor Denisov was not injured during the shelling, as he was at some distance from the group. VGTRK correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and video engineer Anton Voloshin died.

The largest international and human rights organizations, as well as professional associations, condemned the murder of Russian journalists.

Journalists of Zvezda TV channel detained in Dnepropetrovsk region

On June 14, employees of the Russian TV channel Zvezda Yevgeny Davydov and Nikita Konashenkov were detained in the Dnepropetrovsk region and held by the Ukrainian authorities in Dnepropetrovsk. Before being detained, Davydov and Konashenkov were heading to the city's airport for a flight to Moscow at 17.05 local time (18.05 Moscow time). They entered the territory of Ukraine officially, presenting journalistic certificates.

After the release, the journalists said that representatives of the "Right Sector" beat out testimony from journalists. The detainees were blindfolded, pushed into a car at gunpoint and taken away, as it turned out later, to the very center of Dnepropetrovsk. “They took everything: a watch, a mobile phone, even a wedding ring,” Yevgeny Davydov shared his memories. “They promised to shoot you. They said: we will shoot you, bury you in the field and no one will find you.” According to the journalists of the Zvezda TV channel, for the first 12 hours they were not given food or water, they were not allowed to go to the toilet. “Then they began to take them in turn for interrogation. I didn’t have time to sit down, when blows fell on my head, on my body, then the interrogation began,” Davydov said. “If I answered slowly or didn’t like my answer, I got a blow.” Nikita Konashenkov spoke about the same method of interrogation. Moreover, no official charges were brought against the journalists. Read in full on the ITAR-TASS website

Another conflict with the "Star"

On June 6, the Zvezda film crew - cameraman Andrey Sushenkov and video engineer Anton Malyshev - were detained at a checkpoint near Slovyansk. Armed men in black uniforms put masks on the journalists and took them away in an unknown direction, despite the fact that the film crew had officially entered Ukraine. On June 9, the journalists were handed over to the Russian side at the Nekhoteevka international checkpoint (Belgorod Region) and taken to Moscow by a special plane of the Ministry of Defense.

An Italian journalist and his translator were killed near Slavyansk, a French journalist was wounded

On May 24, journalists were working in Andreevka, they were wounded as a result of a mortar attack. Reporters from France and Italy were injured. French stringer William Rogullon was taken to the hospital with a shrapnel wound to his leg. As a result of the shelling, the Italian reporter and his translator were killed.

British journalist detained by Ukrainian security forces

After being detained in Mariupol on May 20, according to the journalist, he was transferred to Zaporozhye, where he remained under armed guard on Wednesday night. After that, Phillips notes, he was "transported under armed guard" and "extensively interrogated about his work for RT."
However, the journalist also assured that he was treated well.

Life News journalists captured

On May 18, LifeNews journalists Oleg Sidyakin and Marat Saichenko were detained by the National Guard near Kramatorsk. The Ukrainian government accused them of terrorism and falsified dubious evidence of their involvement in hostilities. A video was recorded showing journalists being detained. A MANPADS installation enters the frame. But it is clearly seen that this installation is not Russian, but Polish-made. The journalists were kept in captivity until May 25, and with great pressure from the world community and lack of evidence, they were released. Ramzan Kadyrov made a great contribution to this matter.

The released LifeNews reporters said that the Ukrainian security forces forced them to confess to terrorism. "We spent the whole week trying to prove that we are not Chechen special forces," said one of the released journalists. At a briefing that the journalists gave immediately after returning to Moscow, Saichenko said that on the day of detention they were in Kramotorsk (Donetsk region). They learned that there was shooting in the area of ​​the airfield and went to the scene. The journalist noted that they were detained by security forces who arrived in two armored personnel carriers. "They opened fire over our heads," Saichenko said. In turn, Sidyakin noted that he and his colleague shouted to the shooters that they were journalists, they worked legally and did not carry weapons. "We were taken to the airfield, put into helicopters. Moreover, we were put in helicopters tied up, laid on the floor ... We were put on plastic bags on our heads and wrapped with tape around our necks," the journalist said. According to LifeNews employees, the security forces explained the reason for the detention by the fact that they were at the scene of a clash and tried to plant a MANPADS (portable air defense system) on them, which they allegedly found on the spot.