European Institutions Must Protect Media Freedom in Ukraine: Moscow

Russia expects that human rights structures and organizations, including the OSCE and the Council of Europe, will provide an unbiased assessment to systematic violations of journalists’ rights in Ukraine, according to the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

MOSCOW, November 28 (Sputnik) – Leading European human rights institutions and organizations should react to the systematic violations of media freedom in Ukraine, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

The ministry said in a statement that some Russian journalists were denied entry to the country, while others were physically attacked.

"We expect that relevant human rights structures and organizations, including the OSCE and the Council of Europe, will provide an unbiased assessment to systematic violations of journalists' rights in Ukraine," the ministry said.

The ministry expressed concern over intolerance on the part of some Ukrainian officials against those media that have an alternative stance on the events unfolding in the country.

Dozens of Russian journalists have already been denied entry to Ukraine and currently Kiev is also mulling a nationwide ban on Russian TV channels, the statement added.

According to the latest OSCE report on media freedom developments, since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict 7 journalists have been killed, at least 170 have been attacked and about 80 have been abducted and detained in the region.