RT In Monte Carlo TV Fest Finals With Ukraine Mariupol Report

MOSCOW, April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- An RT news programme about tragic events in southeastern Ukraine in May 2014, when the National Guard opened fire on civilians on Victory Day, has been nominated for the Golden Nymph Award of the Monte Carlo Television Festival – the largest and one of the most prestigious TV festivals in the world.

The news programme about the May 9th shooting in Mariupol, where guardsmen opened fire on unarmed civilians celebrating Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War, has been nominated in the Best 24-Hour News Programme category. Presenter Bill Dod in the Moscow studios and correspondent Irina Galushko in southeastern Ukraine covered the clashes between armed militias - identified as the Ukrainian National Guard - and pro-federalization activists. RT filmed the tragedy, which left 20 civilians killed and dozens more wounded.

Freelance cameraman Fyodor Zavaleikov, working for RT's RUPTLY video agency, was heavily wounded while filming the events in Mariupol. Following an emergency surgery, a medical plane took Zavaleikov with a gunshot wound to the abdomen to Moscow, where he was operated on for the second time.

Other nominees in this category include are US' CNN, UK's Sky News and Canada's CBC.

RT won the Golden Nymph in the Best 24-Hour News Programme category in 2013, trumping CNN International, Al Jazeera English and Sky News. In 2014, RT was nominated for the coverage of Unity Day (Jan. 22) clashes between protesters and police in Kiev – events that were part of Ukraine's Maidan movement. RT correspondents reported on these violent riots live, from both sides of blazing barricades on Kiev's Independence Square.

Created in 1961 by Prince Rainier, the Monte Carlo Television Festival is the world's largest forum for television films, news stories and news programmes. Its main prize and symbol is the Golden Nymph, a golden copy of the nymph Salmacis statue which is on display at the Louvre.

RT is a global news network that broadcasts 24/7 in English, Arabic and Spanish from its studios in Moscow, Washington, DC, and London.  It is available to 700 million viewers worldwide. RT is the most watched TV news network on YouTube with more than 2 billion views. RT is the winner of the Monte Carlo TV Festival Awards for best 24-hr broadcast, and the only Russian TV channel to garner three nominations for the prestigious International Emmy Award for News.

SOURCE RT