Targeted strike: Russian missile destroys ATR TV channel office in Kyiv

On the night of February 12, the Russian army attacked Kyiv with ballistic missiles. One of them seriously damaged the building of the Crimean Tatar ATR TV channel in Kyiv.

This was reported by the journalist and deputy general director of the channel Ayder Muzhdabayev. According to him, it was a targeted strike.

As Muzhdabayev said, the explosion caused significant damage to the channel’s internal premises, including the news editorial office, studio, dressing room and employees’ offices.

There were books on the history of the Crimean Tatars here, which we published back in 2013. The premises of the news editorial office, our studio, from where we went on the air, were damaged. Now it is all in ruins, – the journalist noted. He also showed the destroyed office of the editor-in-chief Gulsum Khalilova, noting that none of the channel’s employees were injured.

Ayder Muzhdabayev is convinced that the attack on the Crimean Tatar TV channel was planned.

It cannot be a coincidence that the missile hit here. First, Russian special forces stormed ATR in Crimea, then the TV channel was forced to leave the peninsula. It was financed by Ukraine, but later support ceased. Now we have simply been physically destroyed,” he said.

The journalist emphasized that ATR remained an important media resource for the Crimean Tatars, and the Russian authorities perceived it as a “bone in the throat.”

“The Russians are hindering the independent television of the indigenous people of Crimea, and they decided to eliminate it,” Muzhdabayev concluded.

The office of the FREEDOM TV channel was also damaged as a result of the attack. As is known, the building’s equipment was damaged and windows were broken. The channel’s employees were not injured.