Witch-hunt

On May 11, the Ukrainian website "Peacemaker" published the data of journalists who received accreditation from the authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic

This list, allegedly obtained with the help of hackers, indicates the positions, contacts, duration of work on the territory of the DPR of many reporters, and even provides photographs of some of them. Among the 4,068 journalists in the published archive are the personal data of correspondents from Russia, the United States, Europe, Asia and South America, and Ukraine itself. There is also the name of your obedient servant. Employees of such publications and TV channels as CNN, Bloomberg, Reuters, BBC, Radio Liberty, Novaya Gazeta, Kommersant, Dozhd, 112, STB, ICTV, Inter and many others received accreditation in the DPR other media. In a commentary on the published material, the editors of “Peacemaker” stated that journalists accredited in the DPR collaborated with terrorists, “spit on Ukrainian legislation and illegally crossed our border in an uncontrolled area through the Russian Federation.” Also, according to the authors of the site, some journalists from the list called Scoundrels (“scoundrels”, “scoundrels”) “were seen with weapons in their hands, fighting against the Ukrainian army.”

The authors of “Peacemaker” explain the need to publish this information because of its social significance: “We don’t know what the consequences will be after the publication of this list, but we know for sure: it is necessary to publish it, based on the fact that these journalists are collaborating with militants of a terrorist organization.”

Many military correspondents have already tried to explain to the "peacekeepers" (by the way, the site specializes in publishing these persons, according to its authors, related to the separatist movement of Donbass) that working on the territory of the DPR without accreditation is mortally dangerous (which is true), what is on the list the data of reporters who openly criticized the authorities of the unrecognized republic and Russia are also indicated, that, after all, someone should describe the events taking place on the land that Kiev considers its own and where millions of citizens of Ukraine live. On my own behalf, I would like to add that for two years now, employees of most Russian media outlets have been strictly prohibited from entering Ukrainian territory. And me, for example, after numerous fruitless attempts to get accreditation with the SBU, in the spring of 2014, in order to get to the Donbass from Crimea, I had to bribe two fighters of the vaunted territorial battalions who checked passengers' documents in Melitopol (trains were still running then). I don’t know, the right word, whether this is considered a violation of Ukrainian laws today.

“Stupid people who are trying to stir up war again and support hatred for each other are enough both in Moscow and in Kyiv”

The media have repeatedly written that the curator of the "Peacemaker" is the adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko, who openly supported the publication of the list. That is, the site actually works under the official "roof" of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. It is difficult to say how this is combined with the disclosure of personal data of Ukrainian and foreign journalists, who are already at significant risk in hot spots. Perhaps such an interpretation of freedom of speech in a country striving for democracy would even look funny. If not for the murder of Oles Buzina and the repeated beatings and kidnappings of reporters, which made the danger for any of those who, without any arguments, simply called an accomplice of the separatists, obvious. As one friend and colleague of mine correctly noted: “There are enough stupid people who are trying to stir up war again and support hatred for each other both in Moscow and in Kyiv.”

Unfortunately, with a high probability, the list of journalists is only the first in a series of such “leaks”. As early as April 3, 2016, an announcement appeared on the InformNapalm website about the start of publishing a series of materials “based on the results of hacking into dozens of mailboxes of key figures coordinating the actions of militants, Russian mercenaries and Russian servicemen in Donbas and Syria. The data was obtained by Ukrainian hackers from the anonymous group Falcons Flame (#FF) and submitted for analysis and processing.” So soon witch hunters can expect new archives with the names of volunteers, humanitarian funds and other "terrorists". I am sure that the Russian fanatics will not remain in debt. What will we get as a result? A new aggravation on the Donbass fronts? Beatings of Ukrainian migrants working in Russia? Executions of those who dared to pollute the air with an independent Russian speech?

PS. After Ukrainian and international organizations brought down a tsunami of discontent on the “Peacemaker”, an announcement appeared on the website about the forced cessation of work. True, at the time of signing the issue for print, the page, along with the scandalous list, was still available. Personally, I plan to continue to go on business trips to the Donbass. Obtain any necessary accreditation for this (if given, of course). And write what I think is true.