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Ukraine Warns Foreign Journalists of Legal Action for Joining Russian Propaganda Tour in Occupied Territories
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![Photo of Maryna Kulakova]( "Photo of Maryna Kulakova")
Foreign journalists who joined a press tour of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories will face legal consequences, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on September 28.
Writing on his X account, Tykhyi condemned the participation of several international outlets in the trip organized by Russia’s Defense Ministry:
“Its every participant has violated international law and Ukrainian national legislation by crossing an uncontrolled section of our state border, and they will face legal consequences, including entry bans,” he said.
Tykhyi warned that the outlets involved would face “far-reaching consequences” for their reputations and their ability to operate in Ukraine. He added that the ministry would contact the headquarters of those media organizations in their capitals, demanding apologies and “an end to such conduct.”
“If Russian war criminals take you by the hand to the land they have stolen and caused immense suffering, just in order to present you with a fake facade—this is not journalism, but war crimes whitewashing,” Tykhyi said.
He reminded that Russia continues to hold at least 28 Ukrainian journalists in captivity, calling their release “an extremely difficult” task. He pointed to the prolonged efforts to secure the release of UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khilyuk as an example.
According to Kyiv, Russia has committed more than 800 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion.
“This reality will NOT be shown to the gullible foreign journalists who hopped on the Russian Defense Ministry propaganda tour—Russia is a state of severe censorship, and everyone knows this,” he added. “Such tours are exactly the reason why trust in media is fraying and people are choosing social media instead of reporters who are unable to tell good from evil.”
Tykhyi said the ministry had begun identifying the media outlets and individuals involved in the tour to “ensure that they face the repercussions outlined above.”
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The spokesperson did not specify when the tour took place. On September 16, Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Information reported that Russia had organized another “propaganda trip for an international delegation of pro-Russian activists, journalists, and politicians” to temporarily occupied Donetsk. The delegation reportedly included representatives from eight countries: Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Slovakia, the United States, Turkey, France, and the Czech Republic.
Earlier, an investigation by Slidstvo.Info revealed that Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was detained by Russian forces, died while being held in a detention center in Kizel, Perm region, Russia. Previously, it was known that Roshchyna was initially held in the temporarily occupied territories before being transferred to the Taganrog detention center in Russia’s Rostov region. Until now, the location of her death remained undisclosed.
