Ukrainian MPs, CNN, Washington Post and other foreign journalists come under shellfire in Donetsk Oblast
Lawmakers from Ukraine’s Servant of the People Party and representatives of top foreign media came under fire in the Donbas, with officials and journalists being evacuated to a shelter unharmed.
“At a (Ukrainian Army) position, lawmakers and representatives of foreign media came under fire and were evacuated to a shelter,” Yulia Paliychuk, Servant of the People Party spokesperson, announced on the Telegram messaging app on Feb. 19.
David Arakhamia, the head of the Servant of the People faction in the Ukrainian parliament, said in a video message that before the shelling, a group of Ukrainian MPs were traveling with foreign journalists in war-torn Donbas, observing the situation on Ukrainian Army positions.
“In Novoluhanskе, (Donetsk Oblast) we drove up to an observation post and that’s when 122 mm caliber guns started shooting in our direction. We hid in a dugout,” Arakhamia said on Feb. 19.
“Foreign journalists were shocked, they saw (for themselves) how the Minsk agreements are violated, how banned calibers are used.”
He noted that the point where lawmakers and journalists were located is far from the territories where the civilian population lives.
“All, thank God, are alive. There were about 10-12 shells. After that, when we felt that everything was safe, we continued our trip,” said Arakhamia.
Representative of the Verkhovna Rada in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Maria Mezentseva said that the Servant of the People faction lawmakers, members of the National Security Council and Defense and Intelligence Committee, along with foreign journalists had come under fire.
Anton Gerashchenko, an advisor to the Interior Minister of Ukraine, said in a Facebook post on Feb. 19 that 25 foreign journalists, including CNN, FOX News, Washington Post, The New York Times, and Voice of America, came under fire by Russian proxies when they shelled Ukrainian positions.
“We came under mortar fire at the positions of the 30th Brigade of the Ukrainian Army,” Gerashchenko said.
Paliychuk added, "now our group is in a safe place. Everyone returned from the positions of the military in full force. Fortunately, no one was hurt."
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