Detention of Ukrainska Pravda journalist in Poland: Police say they didn't apprehend anybody

The police of Poland’s Podlaskie Voivodeship (Province) posted a brief note on the evening of 27 February to say that they "did not detain a journalist from Ukraine" after Ukrainska Pravda’s investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach described being arrested.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Podlaskie Voivodeship police on X (Twitter)

Quote: "Attention, fake news! The Podlaskie police did not detain a journalist from Ukraine. This information is false."

Details: A verified account of the Polish police also made this statement.

Ukraine's ambassador in Poland, Vasyl Zvarych, confirmed in a comment to the Wirtualna Polska media outlet that he had intervened in the case of the detained journalist: "They were filming trains and launched a drone. The police decided to check who it was, thinking it may have been saboteurs. The issue was resolved quickly."

Updated at 23:27 (Kyiv time): The police later reported that officers had taken measures to identify some individuals whose presence in the border area had caused concern to local residents. Once the individuals had been identified, they were released.

The Polish police did not name the journalist, but earlier on 27 February, Ukrainska Pravda reporter Mykhailo Tkach had reported an incident involving his detention by the police. Some Polish media outlets have also pointed to a connection between these two events.

Mykhailo Tkach was working with a camera operator near the Polish-Belarusian border (the Podlaskie Voivodeship borders with Belarusian territory), shooting footage about the transit of freight between Poland, Russia and Belarus.

Police officers approached him, showed him their ID, took him to the police station and searched his car and equipment before finally letting him go after four hours of questioning that involved special services.

Sevhil Musaieva, Editor-in-Chief of Ukrainska Pravda, noted that the issue was only resolved after news about it spread and the Ukrainian embassy in Poland got involved.

This article has been updated since publication. 

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