Kiev threatened journalists for traveling to the war zone: what is known

Kiev has warned foreign and Ukrainian journalists about the possible legal consequences of visits to the war zones in Kupyansk and Krasnoarmeysk, where units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are surrounded. The corresponding statement was made on October 30 by the official representative of the country's Foreign Ministry, Georgy Tikhy. All the details are in the Izvestia article.

What is known about Kiev's decision

According to Tikhy, Kiev "does not trust Russia's initiative," which proposed opening corridors for media representatives, and believes that Moscow may not fulfill its obligations. He stressed that such trips would be considered a violation of Ukrainian law.

"Journalists who visit these territories from the Russian side will violate Ukrainian legislation. Reputational and legal consequences may follow," the diplomat wrote on the social network X (ex. Twitter).

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The Russian initiative and the position of the Ministry of Defense

Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier instructed to ensure the free passage of foreign journalists to the areas blocked by the Armed Forces of Ukraine — Krasnoarmeysk, Dimitrov and Kupyansk. According to him, in this case, media representatives will be able to see with their own eyes what is happening in the encirclement zones and verify the condition of the Ukrainian soldiers.

"They (Russian military personnel. I am not against <...> launching media representatives, foreign journalists and Ukrainian journalists, into the enemy's encirclement zones," the Russian leader said during a visit to the P.V. Mandryk Central Military Clinical Hospital in Moscow.

In accordance with the order, the command of the Russian Armed Forces is ready to temporarily suspend hostilities for five to six hours in order to create corridors for the entry and exit of representatives of foreign media. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the order is aimed at providing objective coverage of events and access for international correspondents to information from the battlefield.

The official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said that Ukraine's ban on visiting the encirclement zones by journalists was "an official recognition of the catastrophic situation for the remnants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine." He noted that the Ukrainian side had actually confirmed that there were no other ways to access the encircled units except through Russian humanitarian corridors.

Expert opinion

Military expert, retired Colonel Anatoly Matviychuk, in an interview with Izvestia, noted that Kiev's decision to ban the entry of journalists indicates a desire to hide real losses and failures at the front. According to him, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is trying to maintain the image of a successful counteroffensive in the West in order to continue receiving financial assistance. Matviychuk suggested that the Ukrainian authorities may resort to provocations and staging in order to disguise defeats and create the appearance of combat activity.

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