The EU Thursday voiced deep concern by the continuing violence affecting Eastern Ukraine as a result of the activities of illegal armed groups, as well as the impact of the violence on the freedom of media and freedom of expression.
"We strongly denounce the intimidation of journalists by the self-proclaimed "authorities" in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, including physical threats and abductions," said Michael Mann, spokesman for EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, in a statement.
He deplored the incident in which two Russian journalists were injured on Tuesday, only a few days after the death of Russian journalist Anatoly Klyan, and noted that this demonstrates the gravity of the situation in Eastern Ukraine.
Another example is the recent illegal detention of two Ukrainian journalists for two days by pro-Russian separatists in the Luhansk region.
"Safety of journalists is a fundamental pillar of the right to media freedom, which we call on all sides to respect. We also call for independent investigations into all recently reported cases of violations of journalists' rights," added the spokesman.