Ukrainian newspaper office burned down after threats

The newsroom of a newspaper in eastern Ukraine burned out on Tuesday (22 April) after Molotov cocktails were thrown into the building.

Journalists at Provintsiya (Province) in the city of Konstantinovka, in the Donetsk region, had previously received threatening phone calls.

The paper's editor, Mikhail Razputko, told Gazeta that the anonymous caller said staff would face consequences if they continued reporting critically on the Donetsk People's Republic (the self-proclaimed state of pro-Russian separatists).

Four days before the attack, the paper's front door was painted with "Enough lying!" and "Here you can sign up for membership in Pravy Sector," a reference to a Ukrainian far-right political party.

One of Provintsiya's journalists, Vladimir Berezin, was reportedly forced to flee the region yesterday after receiving threats from pro-Russian activists.

Yesterday I reported on a number of journalists who have been abducted by separatists in Slavyansk. And a Ukrainian photojournalist, Yevgeny Gapich, is reported to have disappeared along with his brother, Gennady, from the city of Horlivka.

Source: CPJ Picture and report (in Ukrainian): Gazeta