Old version of press cards of Armed Forces of Ukraine invalid tomorrow - General Staff

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported this on Telegram, according to Ukrinform.

"Today, May 1, 2023, is the last day of the old-style press cards of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In the future, media representatives will be admitted to the combat zone using the new model of cards," the statement said.

According to the General Staff, over the past two months, nearly 5,000 applications for a new Armed Forces press card have been received from media representatives, of which 75 percent have already been accredited.

The rest of the applications are being verified by the Security Service of Ukraine, as the vast majority of them were received within the last two weeks. They will also be processed in the near future.

It is emphasized that the accreditation by the Armed Forces of Ukraine is carried out primarily to improve the interaction between the Defense Forces and media professionals in the combat areas.

The Armed Forces press card is not mandatory for journalists and other media representatives who do not perform professional tasks in the Defense Forces and do not visit combat areas.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on March 1, the General Staff announced the introduction of a new press card for journalists with a validity period of up to 6 months.