In his appeal, the legislator noted that the war correspondents present in the combat zone perform an important informational mission: they cover the course of hostilities, acquaint the public with real events, level out attempts by third-party stuffing of false information.
At the same time, they, like military personnel, daily risk their health and life in the performance of their professional duties, Matveychev noted.
“In this regard, I ask you to consider the possibility of including representatives of the Russian mass media who perform official duties in the war zone and have accreditation from the Ministry of Defense or other state authority, as well as extend to them in full or partial the amount of benefits provided for veterans of military operations, ”the text of the appeal says.
At present, the list of combat veterans includes servicemen, representatives of the internal affairs bodies, the National Guard, state security agencies who took part in the hostilities, combatants in the self-defense units of the Republic of Dagestan in the second half of 1999, prosecutors and investigators who carried out their official duties in the Chechen Republic during the armed conflict, and so on.
The legislation provides for measures to support combat veterans, including compensation for part of the cost of paying for housing, medical benefits, and the like.
The law "On Mass Media" currently provides for compensation payments from the editorial office in case of harm to a correspondent while performing work assignments in special conditions, including in areas of military operations.
In the event of the death of an employee, the editorial office is obliged to pay compensation to the family of the deceased in the amount of at least 2 million rubles.
At the end of March, President Vladimir Putin signed a law recognizing combat veterans of participants in the operation in Ukraine.