Ombudsman calls for returning accreditations to journalists reporting from liberated Kherson

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s Commissioner for Human Rights, appealed to Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Nov. 14, asking to give back the accreditation to Ukrainian and foreign journalists who were reporting from the southern city of Kherson shortly after its liberation from Russia’s occupation.

The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces canceled permits to access war zones and war-affected areas for a number of journalists, including CNN and Sky News, on Nov. 13. The General Staff said the journalists violated the rules by reporting from the liberated area before it was allowed, meaning before the "stabilization works" were over. The decision sparked outrage in the media community.

Lubinets said that the decision to cancel accreditation for these journalists is "unacceptable." He also called on the authorities to review the conditions for the media's work during the war.

"The world must know the truth about the crimes of the Russian Federation," he said. "And journalists should be able to spread this truth."