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Russia hopes foreign journalists will give objective coverage of Ukrainian refugee crisis

Sixty-seven journalists from 20 countries had a chance to meet the refugees from south-eastern Ukraine on a trip organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry
Former Ukrainian prime minister surrounded by journalists (archive) AP Photo/Sergei Grits
Former Ukrainian prime minister surrounded by journalists (archive)
© AP Photo/Sergei Grits

MOSCOW, July 10. /ITAR-TASS/. The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that foreign journalists, who have visited temporary refugee camps set up for Ukrainian refugees in Russia’s Rostov region, will give an objective coverage of the refugee problem, Alexander Lukashevich, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a briefing on Thursday.

The trip was organized by the Russian Foreign Ministry and the leadership of Russia’s Rostov region. Sixty-seven journalists from 20 countries, including the United States, Germany, France, Britain, China, Japan, Austria, Poland, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Switzerland, and others, had a chance to meet the refugees from south-eastern Ukraine.

“More than 25,000 refugees from Ukraine are reportedly staying in the territory of the Rostov region. They have been offered temporary accommodation at holiday homes, recreation camps, schools and kindergartens. The journalists had a chance to see the living conditions in those places, how the refugees have been accommodated and what problems they are facing,” Lukashevich said.

The journalists also had a chance to visit the Novoshakhtinsk border checkpoint that had come under the Ukrainian army’s fire.

“I hope that this representative media group will finally demonstrate to foreign, especially western readers and TV audiences, the consequences of Kiev’s so-called anti-terrorism operation. Let’s hope that they will be able to show the truth about the refugees,” the Russian diplomat said, adding that was not the last press tour which Russia had organized.

“We are going to show other aspects of the Ukrainian tragedy. We are inviting you, including representatives of the Ukrainian media, to take part in such trips,” Lukashevich stressed.