Media Movement demands that authorities immediately return accreditations to foreign journalists

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksii Reznikov

STATEMENT

We, Ukrainian and foreign journalists and media organizations, demand to take immediate measures to resolve the conflict situation caused by the inefficiency and unprofessionalism of the communications departments of the Ministry of Defense (MoD), in particular the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces.

The news reports of Ukrainian and foreign journalists made in liberated Kherson city contributed greatly to our victory. Footage made by colleagues from CNN, SkyNews, and other leading foreign and Ukrainian media outlets spread all over the world. They witnessed the joy with which Kherson residents meet the Ukrainian army, thereby refuting the lies of Russian propaganda. Their materials are also extremely important documents of Ukrainian history being made now.

Instead, the MoD communications departments, which failed to build a mechanism for the admission of journalists, decided to simply prohibit absolutely all journalists from working, explaining their decision by the danger of staying in the just liberated city.

We would like to remind you that professional journalists who have received official MoD accreditation have appropriate skills, have undergone numerous trainings, have international security certificates, and vast experience of working on the front lines.

Those Ukrainian and foreign journalists who got to Kherson without fulfilling all the requirements of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces are today deprived of their accreditation and will no longer be able to cover events on the front line and in the near-front zone, and foreign correspondents will no longer be able to work in Ukraine.

The failure to understand the peculiarities of the work of journalists during the war and the reluctance to create equal and transparent rules of work led to information tension and a communication crisis. An attempt to ban everything is inefficient and hurts our country. And those who look for simple solutions create complicated problems.

We demand to:

· Immediately return the accreditation to our Ukrainian and foreign colleagues who covered the events in Kherson and who, according to the General Staff reports, were deprived of accreditation for this reason

· Conduct an internal investigation into the unprofessional work of the communications department of the Operational Command “South” and the MoD communications sector in general and make appropriate personnel decisions

· Create equal and transparent rules for the work and admission of journalists and abandon the selective approach

· Stop aggressively attacking media professionals and start cooperating with them. Hire professionals who understand the peculiarities of journalists’ work and can build high-quality communication for the MoD communications departments

· Give up redundant and ineffective bureaucracy, including unnecessary documents and coordination, introduced by the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Southern Defense Forces. Journalists already have MoD accreditation which is an official work permit. Additional documents and permits, especially as they are used unprofessionally and selectively, complicate the work of journalists and have a negative impact on the coverage of the most important events in Ukraine for the Ukrainian and global audience

· Stop unjustified obstruction of journalists’ work and treat them with respect, understanding their needs and mission. The world finds out about the war and empathizes with Ukraine, in particular, thanks to the work of our Ukrainian and foreign colleagues

· Make every effort to ensure that professional media outlets can perform their work promptly and in an unhindered manner

Signed by:

Media movement

Center of Information Studies and Resource Service “Meridian”