Ukraine’s MFA demands apologies and threatens sanctions against participants in propaganda press tour in TOT

According to Ukrinform, MFA spokesperson Hryhorii Tykhyi made the statement on platform X.

“Furious to learn information about a number of international media who have participated in a propaganda press tour to Ukraine’s occupied territories organized by the Russian Defense Ministry,” the statement reads.

Tykhyi emphasized that each participant in the tour violated international law and Ukrainian national legislation by crossing an uncontrolled section of Ukraine’s state border. He stated they will face legal consequences, including entry bans.

The Ukrainian MFA will officially contact the headquarters of all involved media outlets, 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,” the statement reads.

At the same time these media representatives were enjoying a trip organized by Russia’s Ministry of Defense, at least 28 Ukrainian journalists remained unlawfully detained in Russian prisons. Freeing them has been and remains an extremely difficult task—for instance, the effort to free UNIAN reporter Dmytro Khyliuk took a long time.

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, over 800 crimes against journalists and media outlets have been committed in Ukraine.

“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 stressed.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, Ukraine’s MFA and Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports condemned the reinstatement of IPC membership status for the Paralympic committees of Russia and Belarus as disgraceful.