MOSCOW, December 2. /TASS/. Russia invites foreign journalists, including Ukrainian ones, to visit Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian name: Pokrovsk) in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Kupyansk in the Kharkov Region to see the situation with their own eyes, President Vladimir Putin told reporters, noting that some still question the Russian Armed Forces' control over these settlements.
"If anyone has doubts, as I've already said, we are ready to grant foreign and even Ukrainian reporters the right to visit Krasnoarmeysk and see for themselves what is happening there and who actually controls this settlement," the Russian leader said.
He added that when Russia had first voiced such a proposal, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry objected and began threatening journalists. "But now the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has nothing to do with this, since the city is completely in the hands of the Russian Armed Forces."
Putin noted that there is certain danger in Krasnoarmeysk due to its proximity to the front, but Russian war correspondents are working there, which means that the Western ones also can. "Therefore, we will do everything to ensure their safety, and we are prepared to guide them through all the districts of Krasnoarmeysk. The same applies to Kupyansk," the Russian president emphasized.