IFJ and EFJ condemn Russian shelling that kills journalists

Rescuers are at work near a damaged residential building following Russian missiles strikes in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Photo by Anatolii STEPANOV / AFP

The International and European Federations of Journalists strongly condemn the shelling of Pokrovsk overnight into August 7. The shelling damaged the Druzhba Hotel, where journalists covering the war in Ukraine were staying.

In their statement today, they, supporting the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), remind the Russian authorities that journalists and media workers operating in zones of hostilities should be protected as civilians and have the right to do their work freely.

“Modern missiles can be aimed at precise premises in buildings. When places known to be visited by journalists are repeatedly shelled, the intention is obvious – to scare the media off reporting on the atrocities,” emphasizes Tim Dawson, Deputy Secretary General of the IFJ. “It is the responsibility of journalists to highlight this shocking behavior and to talk about the targets of the missiles again and again.”

“The Russian military is clearly targeting journalists and employees of independent mass media,” insists Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the NUJU. “Every colleague who goes to work, not necessarily to the front line, but to any point in the Donetsk Region, shows great courage because a Russian strike can destroy a hotel or a restaurant at any moment. The killing of the famous writer Viktoriya Amelina during the shelling of a pizzeria in Kramatorsk was a war crime. Viktoriya‘s fate illustrates the dangers faced by journalists or others covering the war. We call on world leaders to stop the Russian army and protect the civilian population.”

NUJU Information Service