MOSCOW, August 8. /TASS/. Militants of Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky's regime are conducting a real hunt for Russian media representatives and war correspondents, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"Militants of Zelensky's terrorist regime are conducting a real hunt for Russian media representatives and war correspondents whose reports are documentary evidence of atrocities committed by Ukrainian armed formations against civilians," the diplomat said in connection with the attempted assassination of war correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny.
According to Zakharova, with the tacit consent of the West and human rights structures under its control, "the Kiev regime has indeed declared unarmed media workers its priority targets, while openly boasting about it." "Under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I, journalists are equal to civilians and are protected from attack. Failure to comply with these norms constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law by Zelensky's regime," she added.
"We demand from the relevant international organizations an immediate reaction and a strong condemnation of the terrorist activities of the Bandera regime," the spokeswoman emphasized.
Zakharova pointed out that the perpetrators of the attempt on the life of military correspondent Poddubny will inevitably be punished. "As we’ve repeatedly emphasized, the Russian Investigative Committee thoroughly records all crimes of the Kiev clique. Based on the collected evidence, Russian courts convict neo-Nazis who committed grave crimes against peaceful citizens, including against media workers. We are confident that those responsible for the attempt on the life of the Russian journalist will inevitably be punished," the spokeswoman concluded.
On August 7, Poddubny received multiple wounds in the Kursk Region near the border with Ukraine, where battles with Ukrainian armed formations are taking place. Doctors assessed his condition as serious but stable. On August 8, the journalist was taken to Moscow for treatment.