PMA STATEMENT

PMA condemns attack on Kyiv TV tower

2 March 2022

The Public Media Alliance condemns any targeted attacks by Russia on the broadcasting infrastructure of Ukraine. We again emphasise that journalists in any democratic country must be free and safe to go about their work and provide citizens with facts.

Kyiv tower
Smoke rises from the attack on Kyiv's TV tower. 1 March 2022. Source: Anastasiia Lapatina/Twitter

Verified video footage that emerged late afternoon local time, Kyiv, on 1st March, shows a large blast near the Kyiv TV tower, which killed five people. It is also reported that five more people have been injured.

During times of conflict, it is imperative that civilians continue to have access to free, verifiable and independent news media and the PMA affirms our solidarity and support to Ukrainian public media.

It is not currently known whether the TV tower was deliberately targeted as an integral piece of media infrastructure. Nor is it clear whether the attack was designed to deliberately cripple Ukrainian communications, but some broadcasts were taken off air as a result. The strike also badly damaged the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.

The safety and security of journalists must be guaranteed in Ukraine and civilians must continue to be able to access the communications that are vital to their safety.

The Public Media Alliance continues to stand in solidarity with journalists and media workers in Ukraine and we deplore violence towards critical media and media infrastructure as a further attack on democracy.