Ukrainian journalists and media persons are asking the Ministry of Defense to return the accreditation to journalists whose accreditation was taken away due to their arrival in de-occupied Kherson without permission. They criticize the Ministry of Defense for poorly organized work with the media.
The relevant appeal is published on the website of the Institute of Mass Information.
They emphasized that the reports of Ukrainian and foreign journalists, made in the liberated Kherson, went around the world and witnessed the joy of local residents who met the Ukrainian military. This completely destroyed all the narratives of Russian propaganda.
"Instead, the communication structures of the Ministry of Defense, which failed to build a mechanism for the admission of journalists, decided to simply prohibit absolutely all journalists from working, citing the danger of staying in the newly liberated city," the appeal emphasizes.
Journalists emphasize that all media workers working on the frontline have relevant experience and skills, and are well versed in security issues.
Therefore, they call on the Ministry of Defense to return the accreditation to the journalists, as well as to conduct an internal investigation of "the unprofessional work of the communication department of the OC "South" and the communication sector of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in general, and to make appropriate personnel decisions."
Later, the ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets appealed to the Ministry of Defense. He also called on the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov to return the accreditation to the media who covered the events in Kherson.
"Residents of Kherson with flags on their shoulders sing the national anthem of Ukraine in a CNN story. Isnʼt that beautiful? People from other countries saw the truth — that the people of Kherson do not need any "Russian peace", but they are Ukrainians and were waiting for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Media access control is necessary in wartime conditions. This is an international standard. And it is precisely for this that the Central Directorate of Civil-Military Cooperation of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (J9) was created in the General Staff. However, there is insufficient communication with the international media, whose task is to provide operational information from the scene of events so that citizens of partner countries can see with their own eyes why weapons and humanitarian programs funded by taxes work. Canceling a work permit is unacceptable under such conditions," Lubinets wrote.
According to him, there is currently a need to review this decision and approaches to the work of civil-military cooperation with the media.
- Ukrainian military entered Kherson on November 11. Before that, the Russians announced that they were withdrawing troops from the right bank of the Dnipro River and Kherson itself. Fleeing, the occupiers blew up all the bridges across the Dnipro, boiler houses, communication towers and the television center in Kherson. The city was completely cut off by the Russians. Communication and Ukrainian radio have already been returned there. Currently, the military is clearing Kherson from the occupiers and looking for collaborators.
- The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine revoked the accreditation of a number of journalists who arrived in liberated Kherson before the completion of stabilization measures. They emphasized that they did not have permission for this.