KHARKIV, Ukraine, April 8 (RIA Novosti) – A RIA Novosti journalist was denied access Tuesday to the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city Kharkiv, which had earlier been cleared of ‘separatist’ protestors by special forces.
Rioters pushing for broader regional autonomy in Ukraine were driven out of the building Monday night, and by Tuesday morning a local police officer said no protestors remained inside the building, which has broken windows and a smashed door.
Several dozen masked officers armed with Kalashnikov assault rifles, bearing no identifying insignia, blocked the entrance to the building, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported Tuesday.
Acting Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said a major operation by law enforcement had begun in Ukraine’s Kharkiv, adding that 70 people had been detained in the crackdown, which also included blocking the city center.
A RIA Novosti reporter failed to join a group of journalists who were allowed into the building shortly after the operation. The administration staff said the journalist was barred as he represented a Russian news agency. Ukrainian journalists had no problems entering the office.
Ukrainian media reported late Monday that protesters in Kharkiv voiced plans similar to those in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, who earlier announced they will schedule a referendum in the region by mid-May on declaring independence and joining Russia, although no formal measures have been taken so far.
This is not the first case when Russian journalists have been prevented from covering events in Ukraine. A Russian cameraman working for the RUPTLY agency affiliated with the RT news channel and two Forbes reporters were turned back by border guards on Monday while attempting to enter Ukraine.
Dmitry Kiselev, a prominent Russian TV journalist and head of the Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency was included last month on a list of Russians barred from travelling, owning property or banking in the EU.
The World Press Freedom Committee, one of the leading organizations on the rights of journalists, has come to his defense.
In an interview with Izvestia, Kiselev said the sanctions against him threaten the rights of all journalists around the world. He also explained that Russia and the West have switched roles and now Russia has become the main defender of democratic principles and freedom of speech.
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