Ukraine backtracks on some media sanctions after backlash

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addresses a cabinet meeting in Kiev, Ukraine, September 8, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kravchenko/Pool

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko ordered six European journalists to be removed from a newly-published sanctions list, officials said on Thursday, in a swift U-turn after the list was criticised by the country's Western allies.

Poroshenko signed a decree on Wednesday naming more than 900 people to a blacklist to face penalties for reasons of "national security", after pro-Russian separatists who have seized parts of Ukraine set a date for what Kiev sees as "illegal elections".