UK journalist in Ukraine ashamed of misrepresentation of events in Donbass

British journalist working in southeastern Ukraine in his letter to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Friday said that he was grateful for the diplomatic support of his country, but ashamed of London’s misinterpretation of events in Donbass.

“I am proud to be British, proud of my country. However, I am ashamed of our country’s position regarding events in Donbass, and am doing as much as I can to correctly represent the honour and history, of our great nation,” Graham Phillips said in his letter posted on his blog.

Phillips responded to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s letter sent on February 18, in which London expressed concern over him being “photographed while wearing military uniforms, separatist insignia, or holding firearms” The office also recommended Phillips to leave Ukraine for safety reasons.“

"I’m not in Ukraine, I am in Novorossiya, which voted to secede from Ukraine in referendums last May 11th, after the violent revolution of Euromaidan installed an unelected, far-right government,” Phillips claimed in response.

“I wear ‘separatist insignias’ because I think Novorossiya is a beautiful country. I’ve taken part in firearm drills to augment my experience, and understanding, as a war correspondent,” Phillips wrote, adding that none of his working practices are against the law.

Phillips, who was working for Russia's Zvezda television channel and made special reports from the hotspots for the RT television channel, was detained twice by the Ukrainian State Security Service while working in eastern Ukraine. He was also wounded while covering clashes between Kiev forces and independence supporters.