"Kiev is Cleansing the Information Space" - Zakharova Comments on Murder of Russian Journalists

The murder of Russian journalists in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) is seen as part of a systematic and deliberate effort by Kiev to cleanse the information space. This was stated by Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, during a broadcast on Radio Sputnik.

"For the Kiev regime, journalists have undoubtedly become targets, marked as prey. It is evident that there is a hunt declared against them. This is not merely an isolated attack, akin to others that have taken place in recent days in connection with contacts and the negotiation process in Riyadh; it represents a systematic and methodical 'operation' carried out by the Kiev regime to cleanse the information landscape," she remarked.

Zakharova further noted that under previous presidents of Ukraine, the authorities managed the information space through censorship, the closure of media outlets, and the expulsion of dissenting voices. Subsequently, they gradually escalated to more forceful methods, encouraging assassinations, neglecting to investigate murders, forcibly detaining journalists, attacking editorial offices, and ultimately progressing to outright killings carried out under the auspices of the Kiev regime.

It is important to recall that on March 24, channel "Zvezda" operator Andrei Panov, crew driver Alexander Sirkeli, and military correspondent Alexander Fedorchak from "Izvestia" were killed as a result of a targeted strike by the Ukrainian Armed Forces using HIMARS missiles on a civilian vehicle carrying journalists in the village of Mikhailovka in the LPR.

On March 26, Anna Prokofieva, a military correspondent for the "First Channel," died on the border with Ukraine while performing her professional duties. According to the statement from the channel's press service, the crew was caught in an enemy mine explosion, and the operator Dmitry Volkov, who was with Prokofieva, sustained injuries.