THE Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) said of the 3,000 foreign journalists working in Ukraine, six have been killed, dozens wounded and two kidnapped by Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Kyiv started on February 24.

The journalists were killed under various circumstances, from shrapnel after a rocket attack to a bullet wound, said the Geneva-based global media safety and rights body, as reported by Anadolu Agency.

Half of them were killed while covering battles near Kyiv and the city of Irpin.

“PEC expresses serious concern and condemns the killing of journalists in Ukraine, who have been reporting from the ground after the Russian invasion, and urges all concerned to respect freedom of the press,” said its Guwahati-based journalist Nava Thakuria.

PEC said all the victims were on the ground to report the war.

Shakirov Dilerbek Shukurovych was killed in Kherson on February 26; Yevhenii Sakun in Kyiv on March 1; Viktor Dudar in Mykolaiv on March 4; Brent Renaud in Irpin on March 13; Pierre Zakrzewski in Horenka on March 14; and, Oleksandra Kurshynova in Horenka on March 14.

The “kidnapped journalists worked in the south of the country, where Russia occupied territories”, said Andrii Ianitskyi, PEC’s representative in Ukraine.

“The main needs of journalists in Ukraine are body armour and helmets, satellite phones, first aid kits.”

He said journalists and media workers need safety and first aid training if they are to travel to Ukraine.

Journalists need shelter, where they can stop for several days from one location to another, in safe regions, said PEC.

It added that there is a shortage of local fixers, translators and drivers with cars.

Many journalists in Ukraine are out of work or need part-time jobs to support their families, it said.

All foreign journalists working in Ukraine must obtain free digital accreditation online at the Defence Ministry’s website.

However, Russian hackers attacked several Ukrainian media outlets on March 2, 3 and 17.

On March 1, 2, 14 and 16, rocket attacks destroyed TV towers in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lisichansk, Rivne, Vinnitsa and Korosten.

Ianitskyi said Russian forces also captured television towers in Kherson, Starobelsk, Melitopol and a radio station in Berdyansk. – Bernama, March 20, 2022.