On 13 October 2026, photojournalists Serhii Bobok, Andrii Mariienko and Sofiia Hatilova reported being forcibly removed by police officers and a man identifying himself as a security guard from the site of a Russian attack on a polyclinic in Kharkiv, according to a Facebook post by Bobok.
Bobok, a freelance photographer working for AFP, said he and his colleagues, who work for international news agencies, had arrived to document the aftermath of a Russian strike on civilian infrastructure. They entered the courtyard of the damaged polyclinic without encountering any restrictions, carrying their cameras openly.
According to Bobok, police officers and a civilian man who identified himself as a security guard at a nearby factory approached the journalists and began shouting that the polyclinic was a “strategic facility”. The security guard attempted to take Bobok’s camera from his hands in the presence of police officers. He and one of the officers then grabbed Bobok by the arms and forcibly dragged him outside the polyclinic grounds. Bobok said they also accused the journalists of helping direct Russian strikes on Kharkiv and of making money off of the attacks.
Bobok said Mariienko, who works for AP, was subjected to similar treatment, while Hatilova, a Reuters photographer, was pushed onto the asphalt before being removed from the premises. According to Bobok, the officers did not ask to see the journalists’ identification or accreditation before removing them, despite being told that they were accredited journalists. He also said the officers refused to identify themselves when asked.
Bobok noted that other journalists were subsequently allowed to enter the site without obstruction, while photographs and videos from the same location were later published by the State Emergency Service, police and Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
Following the incident, the three journalists filed a complaint with the police over the use of physical force and accusations that they were helping Russian forces. Bobok said police confirmed that their complaints had been registered, but he did not know whether criminal proceedings had been opened under Article 171 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, concerning obstruction of lawful journalistic activity.