The Reporters Without Borders international organization has condemned the attacks on the offices of three opposition mass media outlets in Kyiv, the organization said in a statement posted on its website.

"The raids on the offices of the newspaper Vechirni Visti, the online TV station INTV and the news website Cenzor.net were serious violations of the freedom of information and Ukraine's constitutional guarantees. They not only forced the targeted media to suspend operations and trampled on the confidentiality of their sources but also sent a very clear message of intimidation to all other Ukrainian media," Reporters Without Borders said.

"We urge the Ukrainian authorities to shed light on these raids, which were carried out in an outrageous and clearly illegal manner. If it is confirmed that the Special Forces were responsible, the competent authorities must explain their actions and be held accountable for these grave violations," the statement said.

Following the attack, mass media outlets covering the events on pro-EU protests at Kyiv's main square Maidan have been blocked, the document said.

On December 9 at 1800 unidentified armed people wearing masks and helmets went into the office of Vechirni Visti daily newspaper, the online TV station INTV and the news website Cenzor.net. The three mass media outlets belong to representatives of the Batkivschyna party.

The attackers took all servers with mass media databases and certain documents belonging to Vechirni Visti.