Kiev (AFP)
A Ukrainian TV station was attacked by a grenade launcher after announcing plans to broadcast a documentary featuring an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the authorities said Saturday, denouncing a "terrorist" act.
The attack occurred on the night of Friday to Saturday in Kiev and did not hurt, but damaged the facade of the headquarters of the 112 Ukraine chain, according to police. A grenade launcher was dropped on the spot.
The Ukrainian security services (SBU) have opened an investigation for "terrorist act", while the police have tightened the controls in Kiev to hope to find the shooter.
The president of 112 Ukraine, Egor Benkendorf, called in a statement President Volodymyr Zelensky to "immediately condemn this criminal act" and to "make it clear and decisive that no one should use force against the media".
The channel is owned by pro-Russian MP Taras Kozak. A few days earlier, she had received a warning from the Ukrainian prosecutor's office after announcing her intention to broadcast a documentary on Ukraine by American director Oliver Stone, which includes an interview with Vladimir Putin.
On Thursday, Ukrainian Attorney General Yuriy Lutsenko said that all those responsible for broadcasting this "Russian propaganda film" would be summoned for questioning.
On Friday, television said it received "a direct threat of physical attack" from ultra-nationalist organizations.
After the attack, the channel announced it has canceled the broadcast of the documentary, scheduled for Tuesday, hoping to avoid a trial and penalties from the authorities.
Russia and Ukraine have been at loggerheads since the arrival of pro-Westerners in Kiev in 2014, followed by Moscow's annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula and a war between Kiev forces and pro-Russian separatists. in the East, which killed more than 13,000 people.
Many attacks have targeted the press or journalists in recent years in Ukraine, where a large number of weapons are in circulation as a result of the war and where investigations in such cases rarely lead to condemnation of those responsible.
Ukraine, a former Soviet republic, ranks 102nd out of 180 in the 2019 World Press Freedom Index established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).
© 2019 AFP