Kiev - Ukraine's Interior Ministry has said it would allow journalists reporting on politics, crime and corruption to carry guns that fire rubber bullets, in a response to a wave of attacks on reporters.
Ukraine has come under fire from the West for its patchy record on human rights and press freedom. Around 18 journalists, many of them investigative reporters, have been killed during the country's 10 years of independence from the Soviet Union.
Reporters' representatives were quoted by local media as saying the measure would put journalists in danger and was an admission the government was powerless to defend the press.