Ukrainian parliament grants access to journalists again

Media representatives have been granted access to the premises of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament). The relevant order on accreditation within the parliament for the period of martial law has been signed by Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.

Source: website of the Ukrainian parliament

Quote: „The necessary conditions have now been arranged for media representatives to cover the work of the single legislative body. These include specially equipped workplaces, a place for briefings, recording interviews, broadcasting meetings, etc.“

Details: Stefanchuk and Viacheslav Shtuchnyi, Chief of Staff of the Ukrainian parliament, reportedly met with journalists on 7 May to explain the specifics of working in the press centre, including the requirement to go down to the shelter during air raids.

The parliament emphasised that no more than 30 media representatives can be in the press centre at any one time.

This is due to security requirements and the number of seats in the simplest shelter in the parliament building.

For reference: Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, journalists have been denied access to the Ukrainian parliament building. Moreover, no live broadcasts of parliamentary sessions have been conducted since 24 February 2022.

Background: At the end of 2023, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Freedom of Speech, said that the parliament’s staff was developing a mechanism for re-accreditation of media representatives, which would further improve their experience of working in parliament.

On 1 May, Viacheslav Shtuchnyi stated that media representatives would again be allowed into the parliament during sittings, but their number would be limited to 20-30 people. It was reported that journalists would receive a special briefing after Orthodox Easter (5 May).

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