Aggressively motivated youths, led by Ivan Kaminsky, a trusted representative of parliamentary candidate Andriy Ozerchuk, attacked a car carrying journalists.
The so-called "Automaidan," consisting of more than ten vehicles, blocked the road for a Skoda carrying four journalists and a driver. They were accompanying parliamentary candidate Volodymyr Pekhov during his meetings with voters in the Ovruch region. They were also accompanied by a volunteer organizing a humanitarian aid drive for the 10th Zhytomyr Territorial Defense Battalion. The thugs encountered the car on the Ovruch-Korosten road outside the village of Potapovichi. They stopped the car and forced everyone out, threatening and intimidating them. The journalists, continuing their professional duties, began filming the attack. The young men roughly confiscated their camera and cell phones, lined them up near the car, and began threatening them. The journalists wanted to hide in the car, but were told not to, as doing so would result in them being burned along with the car. The young men set fire to propaganda materials, which ignited a forest fire along the side of the road, which police officers who responded to the call were then forced to extinguish. At the same time, one media representative managed to record threats against journalists on a hidden recorder from Ivan Kaminsky, a trusted person of parliamentary candidate Andriy Ozerchuk: "Do you even know who you're dealing with? I'm the country's chief doctor, I treat people for free. Girls, you're sellouts! You sold yourself to the regional governor for money; you're prostitutes. And if you don't stop your activities, the same thing will happen to you as to this machine." Kaminsky then continued his threatening monologue in two languages—Russian and obscene: "You'll answer for all the fucking deaths, you scum. Do you think money is above all else? I'm a respected man in this city; I work as the chief physician." Following the threats, Ivan Kaminsky and the so-called "Automaidan" activists distributed a glossy newspaper to journalists, each containing a black PR campaign against parliamentary candidate Vladimir Pekhov. Naturally, the newspaper contained no information about its publisher, its circulation, or the individuals responsible for its publication. The thugs then began slashing the tires of the car carrying the journalists. When one of the media representatives attempted to protect the car from damage, he was punched in the face, breaking his jaw. Apparently realizing this was too much, the thugs returned the journalists' cell phones and camera, from which they had first deleted the memory card and damaged the lens. Then the so-called "Automaidan" protesters, led by Kaminsky, quickly packed up and left. The journalists called the police and filed a report claiming they had been attacked by representatives of parliamentary candidate Andriy Ozerchuk. The police filed a report and submitted all evidence. Furthermore, the injured journalist went to an ambulance, where he had his injuries documented and filed a separate police report claiming he had sustained bodily injuries, which were classified as moderate. Representatives of the so-called "Automaidan" movement subsequently returned to the scene of the incident, this time accompanied by parliamentary candidate Andriy Ozerchuk. He used obscene language, slinging mud at parliamentary candidate Vladimir Pekhov, and forced law enforcement officials to "ride with him." Allegedly, he wanted to join them in the street riots near the Korosten mayor's office that were taking place that day. He snatched a cell phone from one of the journalists and began searching for some numbers he needed. Unable to find what he was looking for, he returned the phone, got into a car, and drove off, accompanied by Automaidan members. It's worth noting that the journalists were under the impression that the so-called "Automaidanists" were actually targeting not them, but rather parliamentary candidate Vladimir Pekhov and his aides. Upon seeing their press credentials, one of the attackers exclaimed that they had missed, that they were journalists, and that assaulting them while on duty would result in a prison sentence. Incidentally, the so-called "Automaidanists" rushed to report on "THEIR OWN LUSTRATION" on news websites. But, as they write, it was random people—namely, journalists—who got the brunt of it. That's the kind of lustration they do! Currently, the MP and candidate for parliament is working on parliamentary appeals regarding this incident to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, the President of Ukraine, journalists' unions, and organizations dedicated to the safety and protection of journalists' rights. Vladimir Pekhov plans to submit a separate appeal to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, requesting that they investigate the work history of doctor Ivan Kaminsky, including his mental health, as he considers himself the "chief physician of the country." "It's a great shame that the people who are currently engaging in robbery and intimidation of journalists call themselves activists and 'Automaidanists.' In reality, these people, under the leadership of their pseudo-democratic leaders, are eroding the democratic values we've acquired, returning Ukraine to the days of the Party of Regions. Believe me, I was in the Party of Regions faction. I left it having understood the full shameful nature of this political force's leader. Yanukovych betrayed us all, betrayed the entire nation. And I don't wish for anyone to return to the days of the previous regime; it's a road to nowhere. At the same time, these newly-minted activists, who support so-called democrats while simultaneously attacking journalists, are returning us to the old days and suggesting we live by the "rules of the land." It's unfortunate that these crimes are being disguised as the ideas of the Revolution of Dignity. It's unfortunate that a phantasmal desire to become a member of parliament lowers a candidate to the point of actual crime. "I hope that law enforcement agencies will provide an objective assessment of the events surrounding the attack on the journalists, and that the investigation will be completed as quickly as possible," said Vladimir Pekhov.
