groups positively, their equipment would be destroyed and employees put in danger. In Donetsk, all media outlets are required to register with the armed groups’ ‘Ministry of Information and Communications’. This extends to online resources, including individual bloggers, as well as distributors of print media. Any outlet that does not register would be banned from all media activities. Ukrainian television channel ICTV and the local municipal TV channel 12 in Donetsk were replaced by Russian TV channel broadcasts. On the other hand, four Russian TV channels have already been banned from broadcasting in Ukraine and the process is underway to ban three more following complaints about their content in compliance with the national legislation, particularly related to the use of hate speech and media. 153. The polarization and hardening of attitudes in Ukraine has resulted in some people attempting to muzzle the press or intimidate media outlets in an attempt to influence their editorial policy that they consider contrary to their own viewpoint. For example, the newspaper offices of ‘Vesti’ in Kyiv were attacked twice within a week, on 28 June and again on 5 July. In Chernivtsi, the local chapter of the National Council of Journalists has appealed to the President and others concerning a number of recent judgments which the organization says will impair journalists’ independence and force them to stop writing about important issues and which, in the organization’s view, contravene European and Ukrainian law. D. Freedom of movement 154. Restrictions on the freedom of movement are a daily experience in areas of the east. Roadblocks and ad hoc checkpoints manned by armed groups regularly stop people who are then searched and valuables stolen or destroyed. Women and girls feel especially vulnerable because of the violence and general lawlessness and, according to the testimony of IDPs, do not go out. The ability of men to freely move in and out of areas controlled by armed groups in the eastern regions is curtailed due to abductions, which at times, lead to forced mobilisation to armed groups. 155. Ukrainian citizens continue to face restrictions and long delays crossing from Ukraine mainland to Crimea and vice versa due to the Crimean border guards. E. Freedom of religion or belief 156. The freedom of religion or belief has come under increasing pressure in the last weeks. A disturbing number of incidents have been reported in the east and Crimea. The armed groups have declared that the main religion in Donetsk region was Orthodox Christianity (of the Moscow Patriarchate) and that sects were prohibited. This approach explains to a large extent, the increasing number of attacks on Protestant, Mormon, and Roman Catholic churches in the areas controlled by the armed groups. Religious leaders have been harassed, threatened and abducted. 157. There have been reports of incidents in other parts of the country. For example, in Odesa, law enforcement pre-emptively surrounded a synagogue that was to be a target of an anti-Jewish demonstration thereby deterring the protestors and no gathering occurred. 158. In Kyiv, on 22 June, a more violent protest targeted a religious group perceived as being affiliated with the Russian Federation. The demonstrators included men armed with baseball bats and hammers, some wearing bulletproof vests and clearly intending to do damage. However, once again a large law enforcement presence prevented any 162 | P a g e