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Forbes says reporters blocked from entering Ukraine

Document reportedly given to Forbes journalists who attempted to enter Ukraine [Photo: Forbes.ru]
Document reportedly given to Forbes journalists who attempted to enter Ukraine [Photo: Forbes.ru]
Two journalists working for the Russian version of Forbes magazine were prevented from entering Ukraine by border guards over the weekend, the news organization reported on Monday.

Pavel Sedakov and Atryom Goloshchapov were on a train headed for the southern Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk when they were turned away by customs officials, Forbes said.

Officials reportedly told the pair that their entry was denied because the journalists did not have “sufficient financial support” to make the trip, and that the purpose of their visit was undeclared.

Forbes reported the two had been traveling to Ukraine on business.

Both journalists were re-routed to Moscow and told that if they attempted to re-cross the border they would be denied entry to Ukraine for three years.

Ruptly photojournalist Andrey Ivanov was recently denied entry into Ukraine in a similar fashion, his employer RT reported on Monday. According to the Kremlin-funded news channel, Ivanov’s passport was taken away by officials with the promise that it would be given back once he returned to Moscow.

Over the past month, several journalists working for Russia-based news organizations have been turned away from the Ukraine border as they attempted to report on the ongoing civil conflict there. Forbes reports that journalists from Russian television channels TRK1 and NTV are among those who were told they couldn’t enter Ukraine.

According to border officials quoted by Forbes, the NTV journalists were told they couldn’t cross into Ukraine because they had “mis-stated the true purpose of their visit.” Other reporters were denied entry into the country because they were attempting to “transmit false information about the events taking place in Ukraine,” government spokesperson Pavlo Shisholin said according to the magazine.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys covers the business of broadcast and streaming TV, radio broadcasting, social media, technology and telecommunications. A journalist for over 15 years, Matthew previously worked at Thomson Reuters, KGO-TV in San Francisco, KTXL in Sacramento and McNaughton Newspapers. He received 9 California Journalism Awards between 2018 and 2020, and is a member of IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors).
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