OSCE condemns strike on Suspilne Odesa: media facilities protected by international humanitarian law

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Jan Braathu condemned the russian drone strike on the offices of Suspilne Odesa and called on the russian military to comply with international humanitarian law.

“I remind you and repeat: media facilities are civilian objects and as such are protected by international humanitarian law and cannot be attacked,” Jan Braathu wrote on the X network after the attack on March 28.

The OSCE representative emphasized that he condemns targeted strikes on media facilities and called on the russian military command to comply with IHL norms.

As earlier reported, on March 28, Odesa suffered one of the most powerful attacks by shaheed drones – the enemy launched more than 100 drones over the city and region. Among the damaged facilities are several Suspilne buildings in the Primorskyi District. One of them is beyond repair. The Suspilne Academy, a space for training and creative meetings of the region’s media community, was also damaged. In addition to television broadcasting, Ukrainian Radio Odesa, which covers the entire region, was also damaged.

Olena Golda, the editor-in-chief of the Suspilne Odesa branch, noted that for the newsroom it was only a matter of time — after the attacks on branches in Kherson, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia. According to her, facilities with a long history were damaged: it was here that Odesa television was born several decades ago. Despite significant damage, the equipment was previously hidden in a safe place, so the broadcaster continues to work. There are no victims among journalists.