Freedom of Speech Barometer for December 2024
The Institute of Mass Information experts recorded 30 freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in December, according to the monthly IMI monitoring “Freedom of Speech Barometer”.
Russia's crimes (23 cases) inlcuded death threats and intimidation, cyber attacks, legal pressure, and media outlets closing down due to Russia's aggression.
The death of two media professionals were reported in December:
- Oleh Sarelo, soldier and film editor for the project Realna Istoria. His death was announced by his wife Olena on December 9, 2024. Oleh enlisted in the Ukrainian Armed Forces six months before. He served in the separate mechanized brigade No. 72.
- Anton Vovk, music editor for Starlight Media's MasterChef turned soldier. He was killed in action while performing a combat mission on December 28, 2024. He served in the separate airborne assault brigade No. 95.
Freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in December 2024
In December, multiple media outlets and journalists received another wave of identical emails claiming that bombs had been planted in the buildings of various institutions across Ukraine, as well as in the media offices. The emails arrived to both national and regional (Zaporizhzhia, Rivne, Volyn, Kropyvnytskyi, Poltava) media outlets.
Two media outlets sustained cyber attacks: Espreso TV, when the hackers gained unauthorized access to the channel’s server and attempted to stream a video clip parroting the Russian psyop narratives about Ukraine’s mobilization effort, and the Chernihiv online news outlet Cheline (the website and administration systems were down). Both teams believe Russia to be involved in the attacks. Hackers also targeted a telecom provider and streamed pro-Russian clips on Ukrainian channels.
Russia arrested DW journalist Nicholas Connolly and Hromadske journalist Diana Butsko for reporting from Kursk region.
Two newspapers (Kropyvnytskyi's Nova Hazeta and Chernihiv's Slovo Varvynshchyny) were indirectly affected by the influence of Russia's war on Ukraine's media market. Nova Hazeta is permanently going out of print in 2025. Editor Inna Danilchenko says they were unable to produce a quality product with the funding the newspaper could afford.
The Chernihiv oblast newspaper Slovo Varvynshchyny is temporarily going out of print due to having no funding for the next six months. Another factor that led to the closure is the lack of staff.
The IMI also recorded 7 cases of freedom of speech violations unrelated to Russia's war on Ukraine. These included obstruction of reporting, indirect and legal pressure, and cyber attacks.
In Kremenchuk and Zhytomyr, reporters with Espreso TV and Suspilne Zhytomyr were faced with obstruction by ordinary citizens. Espreso's Maria Ivanovska, who was in Kremenchuk to investigate the supply of Russian oil products to Ukraine, met unknown men who forbade her to film and threatened to break her phone. They also blocked the journalist's passage with their car, preventing her from leaving the location.
In Zhytomyr, the relatives of the defendants prevented Suspilne journalists from entering the courtroom to report on a hearing in the case of group of men from Korostyshiv who are suspected of racketeering. The people blocked the door, pushing the journalists away, shouting and declaring that they would not be entering until all the relatives are let in. Only after the police arrived were the journalists finally allowed into the courtroom.
Rivne's Chetverta Vlada was targeted with more smear content about the outlet's journalists. A local website posted articles about the Chetverta Vlada editors Volodymyr and Antonina Torbich, resorting to insults against Volodymyr and making assumptions as to the reasons for the couple's upcoming divorce.
Radio Liberty and Skhemy journalist Heorhiy Shabayev faced legal pressure by former judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court, Lyudmyla Arestova, who sued him for revealing her Russian citizenship. Arestova is asking the court to recover a total of UAH 180,000 in moral damages from Heorhiy Shabayev and Radio Liberty, as well as to declare the information about her Russian citizenship, reported in the Skhemy investigation released on July 13, 2023, as “unreliable and defamatory of honor, dignity and business reputation,” and to remove her photos, which Skhemy found in open sources, from the material.
Read the full monitoring below.
RUSSIA'S CRIMES
Death threats, intimidation – 16
1. Another bomb allegedly planted in Kremenchutskyi Telegraf office
02.12.2024 Kremenchutskyi Telegraf (Poltava oblast) received another letter claiming that a bomb has been planted in their office, reported chief editor Lesya Lazorenko on Facebook on December 2, sharing the details with the regional Institute of Mass Information representative Nadiya Kucher.
“Another air raid alert. A bomb in the office. Coordinating the journalists' work outside the office. Waiting for the police out in the cold. And making sure to have some sweets in my pocket, because the bomb-sniffing dog Karat will be there and he does his job well. The investigator asked why exactly would someone plant a bomb in our Kremenchuk office, paralyzing the team's work. What can I reply, I suppose someone considers it worthwhile. And it is on those asking this question to find the answer. Maybe when they realize the reason, the answer will become clear,” the journalist wrote.
In her comment to the IMI representative, Lesya Lazorenko said that the bomb threat letter had been sent to the editorial inbox.
“The message is quite clever, stylistically. Signed by the War and ATO Veterans Association. They sent greetings to a Finance Ministry lady and added a photo of the device with a card attached,” said Lazorenko (the photo shows the card saying "For Svitlana Vorobey", Deputy Minister of Finance – author’s note).
This is the fourth time this year that the Kremenchutskyi Telegraf office received a bombing threat, says Lesya Lazorenko. She adds that the letter did not mention or allude to any content produced by the media outlet.
On October 14, multiple Ukrainian media outlets received bomb threats. Namely, Kremenchutskyi Telegraf received two emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office.
On November 26, several Ukrainian media outlets and media offices received anonymous emails warning of bombs planted in various institutions across Ukraine. In particular, the letters to Detector Media and the International Multimedia Broadcasting Platform of Ukraine asked to blame Radio Liberty journalist Iryna Sysak and deputy Minister of Finance Svitlana Vorobey of the crime.
2. Rivne journalist, IMI representative receives bomb threats
12.12.2024 Hanna Kalaur, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Rivne oblast, received an email from an unknown sender claiming that bombs had been planted in multiple buildings.
This is the fifth such email in the last three months, says Hanna Kalaur.
The sender calls themselves “Yulia Bilyak” and claims to be a combat veteran with a disability who is dissatisfied with the state of affairs in the country, namely with the work of the SBU, the National Police, and the enlistment centers. The sender calls for a rally against the authorities' abuse of power on December 14, 2024 and calls for an "overthrow", announcing a series of terrorist attacks.
The message specifies that the sender has planted bombs in the building where the IMI representative works and in others, including the Kyiv City Clinical Hospital No. 15, the Lviv Polytechnic, the Embassy of Argentina, etc.
“I planted a bomb in your building, there is a makeshift explosive device in your building, I will activate it remotely within 5 days. [...] I spent 2 weeks planting explosive devices in different oblasts and buildings across Ukraine and will detonate them once every 5 days. They were abandoned,” the threatening email says.
The message contains several other demands and intimidating statements, as well as a thank you to the drug cartel Khimprom and other hacker organizations that allegedly helped organize the terrorist attacks. The sender closes the email by calling on the receivers to join their initiative by clicking on dubious links that may be phishing.
As the IMI reported, Ukrainian media outlets and government bodies across the country have been receiving bomb threats en masse since October 2024. There have been several such waves so far. Ukrainian police and media professionals assume that Russia is involved in creating the messages, seeking to destabilize the situation in Ukraine in this way.
3. Suspilne Rivne evacuates staff due to bomb threats
12.12.2024 Suspilne Rivne, the Rivne branch of the National Public Broadcasting Company, received an email claiming that a bomb had been planted in the office and had to temporarily evacuate the staff today, December 12. This is the third such message received by the branch in the last three months, reports Suspilne Rivne manager Lyudmyla Khoma to Hanna Kalaur, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Rivne oblast.
According to Lyudmyla, they received an email about the bombs at about 10:30 a.m., which forced the branch to contact the police and evacuate the staff while the office was being inspected.
“The employees were evacuated until the police finished inspecting the premises and gave us permission to go back to work. This, of course, has a somewhat difficult impact on our work, as on everyone else in our country.
"This is an element of the hybrid war that the enemy is waging against us, because this is an economic crime, a crime against people who get anxious, worry, who cannot schedule their day. This is an informational and psychological war that continues and in which we must stand firm,” said Lyudmyla Khoma.
As previously reported, Suspilne Rivne received first such email on October 14, 2024. The following inspection showed no signs of explosive devices in the building.
Today Hanna Kalaur, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Rivne oblast, also received an email from an unknown sender claiming that bombs had been planted in multiple buildings.
4. Suspilne Lutsk receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024 Suspilne Lutsk, the Lutsk branch of the National Public Broadcasting Company, received several emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their building on December 12. The team had to contact the police.
Suspilne Lutsk manager Lyudmyla Hetmanchuk, reported this to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Volyn oblast, Maya Holub.
According to Hetmanchuk, four such letters arrived at the Suspilne Lutsk corporate inbox in one day.
The sender asked to take their claim seriously, and then said that they had planted a bomb in the building. The emails also warned of bombs in other buildings across the country, listing the addresses.
“The content is almost identical in all the emails. The only thing that differed was the addresses of the mined facilities. One letter mentioned the Embassy of Algeria in Ukraine, the other was about the Embassy of Iran. There was also a university in Ivano-Frankivsk, and a school in Ternopil,” said Lyudmyla Hetmanchuk.
“As soon as we received the email, I immediately dialed 102, a police squad arrived, they went around the entire building, looked through every office, and drew up a report,” she added.
On December 12, Suspilne Rivne, the Rivne branch of the National Public Broadcasting Company, received an email claiming that a bomb had been planted in the office and had to temporarily evacuate the staff.
Earlier, on November 26, Yuriy Horbach, the director of the Investigative Journalism Center for "Syla Pravdy", received an email threatening bomb attacks in Kyiv and Odesa oblasts to his personal inbox.
5. Pershyi Zaporizkyi receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024
The media outlet Pershyi Zaporizkyi received an email threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations on December 12. The letters also mention bombs planted at media offices in Kyiv and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The media outlet confirmed receiving the email to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
In addition to Pershyi Zaporizkyi, four more Zaporizhzhia media outlets received such letters on December 12: Accent, Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, Zprz.City, and Inform.zp.ua. In total, the news outlets received seven letters with similar content.
The senders threaten to bomb Mykolaiv Channel 2, Radio Knyha, Rivne 1, BC Kremenchuk 2, Radio Lviv, UNIAN, and Radio Liberty.
Three letters were signed as Petro Pavlovych Vrublevskyi, who calls himself a combat veteran and a “war invalid” “who lost his health in the war for Ukraine and his family.” Other senders had female names: Natalia Viktorivna Lozova, Tetyana Volodymyrivna Stepanova, Yulia Pavlivna Bilyak, Daryna Oleksandrivna Fedorenko, but the content of the emails was nearly identical.
The letters list the objects where bombs have allegedly been planted and the sender's intention to blow them up. The lists of mined objects contain various addresses in Kyiv and other oblasts, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Kryvyi Rih. The sender claims that schools, embassies, police, a healthcare center, hotels, media offices, and universities have been mined.
The emails use many loanwords from Russian, stylistically incorrect vocabulary, and have grammar errors. For instance, in all the emails, the names of the “mined” universities across Ukraine are written in Russian. There are also factual errors in the names and addresses of the sites: namely, some of the media outlets mentioned do not exist or their addresses are invalid. There are also some errors in the listings of other institutions and organizations mentioned in the letters.
All the senders call on the recipients to join them “on the square near the Verkhovna Rada” on December 14 to ensure “that the power belongs to the common people.” Each email contains threats, with the senders saying that if they are not heard, they will be bombing “state administration bodies and their families who live in prosperity.” They also call for mass murder.
Furthermore, the senders use hate speech and insults referring to the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
All the letters contain thanks to the Khimprom cartel and "the administration of the darknet forum Rutor" for “training and funding,” with a link to join them on social media. According to “Slidstvo.Info”, the drug cartel Khimprom is a criminal group that may be behind the synthetic drug dealing network in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine has opened multiple cases against the cartel and its activities have been described in dozens of court rulings. The darknet forum Rutor is a real community on the Internet shadow market, offering customers both “illegal transactions” and “gambling entertainment.”
The email domains of the senders lead to websites of various foreign companies, including the Japanese electrical company Idea Electric Industries Co, the Japanese spa Bijin-yu Shofuen, the Beauty EST beauty salon in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and the Vietnamese Wyndham Legend Halong Hotel.
6. Zaporizhzhia's Accent receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024 The media outlet Accent received an email threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations on December 12. The letters also mention bombs planted at media offices in Kyiv and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The media outlet confirmed receiving the email to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
In addition to Accent, four more Zaporizhzhia media outlets received such letters on December 12: Pershyi Zaporizkyi, Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, Zprz.City, and Inform.zp.ua. In total, the news outlets received seven letters with similar content.
The senders threaten to bomb Mykolaiv Channel 2, Radio Knyha, Rivne 1, BC Kremenchuk 2, Radio Lviv, UNIAN, and Radio Liberty.
Three letters were signed as Petro Pavlovych Vrublevskyi, who calls himself a combat veteran and a “war invalid” “who lost his health in the war for Ukraine and his family.” Other senders had female names: Natalia Viktorivna Lozova, Tetyana Volodymyrivna Stepanova, Yulia Pavlivna Bilyak, Daryna Oleksandrivna Fedorenko, but the content of the emails was nearly identical.
The letters list the objects where bombs have allegedly been planted and the sender's intention to blow them up. The lists of mined objects contain various addresses in Kyiv and other oblasts, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Kryvyi Rih. The sender claims that schools, embassies, police, a healthcare center, hotels, media offices, and universities have been mined.
The emails use many loanwords from Russian, stylistically incorrect vocabulary, and have grammar errors. For instance, in all the emails, the names of the “mined” universities across Ukraine are written in Russian. There are also factual errors in the names and addresses of the sites: namely, some of the media outlets mentioned do not exist or their addresses are invalid. There are also some errors in the listings of other institutions and organizations mentioned in the letters.
All the senders call on the recipients to join them “on the square near the Verkhovna Rada” on December 14 to ensure “that the power belongs to the common people.” Each email contains threats, with the senders saying that if they are not heard, they will be bombing “state administration bodies and their families who live in prosperity.” They also call for mass murder.
Furthermore, the senders use hate speech and insults referring to the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
All the letters contain thanks to the Khimprom cartel and "the administration of the darknet forum Rutor" for “training and funding,” with a link to join them on social media. According to “Slidstvo.Info”, the drug cartel Khimprom is a criminal group that may be behind the synthetic drug dealing network in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine has opened multiple cases against the cartel and its activities have been described in dozens of court rulings. The darknet forum Rutor is a real community on the Internet shadow market, offering customers both “illegal transactions” and “gambling entertainment.”
The email domains of the senders lead to websites of various foreign companies, including the Japanese electrical company Idea Electric Industries Co, the Japanese spa Bijin-yu Shofuen, the Beauty EST beauty salon in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and the Vietnamese Wyndham Legend Halong Hotel.
7. Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024 The media outlet Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center received an email threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations on December 12. The letters also mention bombs planted at media offices in Kyiv and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The media outlet confirmed receiving the email to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
In addition to Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, four more Zaporizhzhia media outlets received such letters on December 12: Pershyi Zaporizkyi, Accent, Zprz.City, and Inform.zp.ua. In total, the news outlets received seven letters with similar content.
The senders threaten to bomb Mykolaiv Channel 2, Radio Knyha, Rivne 1, BC Kremenchuk 2, Radio Lviv, UNIAN, and Radio Liberty.
Three letters were signed as Petro Pavlovych Vrublevskyi, who calls himself a combat veteran and a “war invalid” “who lost his health in the war for Ukraine and his family.” Other senders had female names: Natalia Viktorivna Lozova, Tetyana Volodymyrivna Stepanova, Yulia Pavlivna Bilyak, Daryna Oleksandrivna Fedorenko, but the content of the emails was nearly identical.
The letters list the objects where bombs have allegedly been planted and the sender's intention to blow them up. The lists of mined objects contain various addresses in Kyiv and other oblasts, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Kryvyi Rih. The sender claims that schools, embassies, police, a healthcare center, hotels, media offices, and universities have been mined.
The emails use many loanwords from Russian, stylistically incorrect vocabulary, and have grammar errors. For instance, in all the emails, the names of the “mined” universities across Ukraine are written in Russian. There are also factual errors in the names and addresses of the sites: namely, some of the media outlets mentioned do not exist or their addresses are invalid. There are also some errors in the listings of other institutions and organizations mentioned in the letters.
All the senders call on the recipients to join them “on the square near the Verkhovna Rada” on December 14 to ensure “that the power belongs to the common people.” Each email contains threats, with the senders saying that if they are not heard, they will be bombing “state administration bodies and their families who live in prosperity.” They also call for mass murder.
Furthermore, the senders use hate speech and insults referring to the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
All the letters contain thanks to the Khimprom cartel and "the administration of the darknet forum Rutor" for “training and funding,” with a link to join them on social media. According to “Slidstvo.Info”, the drug cartel Khimprom is a criminal group that may be behind the synthetic drug dealing network in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine has opened mltiple cases against the cartel and its activities have been described in dozens of court rulings. The darknet forum Rutor is a real community on the Internet shadow market, offering customers both “illegal transactions” and “gambling entertainment.”
The email domains of the senders lead to websites of various foreign companies, including the Japanese electrical company Idea Electric Industries Co, the Japanese spa Bijin-yu Shofuen, the Beauty EST beauty salon in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and the Vietnamese Wyndham Legend Halong Hotel.
8. Inform.zp.ua receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024 The media outlet Inform.zp.ua received an email threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations on December 12. The letters also mention bombs planted at media offices in Kyiv and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The media outlet confirmed receiving the email to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
In addition to Inform.zp.ua, four more Zaporizhzhia media outlets received such letters on December 12: Pershyi Zaporizkyi, Accent, Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, and Zprz.City. In total, the news outlets received seven letters with similar content.
The senders threaten to bomb Mykolaiv Channel 2, Radio Knyha, Rivne 1, BC Kremenchuk 2, Radio Lviv, UNIAN, and Radio Liberty.
Three letters were signed as Petro Pavlovych Vrublevskyi, who calls himself a combat veteran and a “war invalid” “who lost his health in the war for Ukraine and his family.” Other senders had female names: Natalia Viktorivna Lozova, Tetyana Volodymyrivna Stepanova, Yulia Pavlivna Bilyak, Daryna Oleksandrivna Fedorenko, but the content of the emails was nearly identical.
The letters list the objects where bombs have allegedly been planted and the sender's intention to blow them up. The lists of mined objects contain various addresses in Kyiv and other oblasts, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Kryvyi Rih. The sender claims that schools, embassies, police, a healthcare center, hotels, media offices, and universities have been mined.
The emails use many loanwords from Russian, stylistically incorrect vocabulary, and have grammar errors. For instance, in all the emails, the names of the “mined” universities across Ukraine are written in Russian. There are also factual errors in the names and addresses of the sites: namely, some of the media outlets mentioned do not exist or their addresses are invalid. There are also some errors in the listings of other institutions and organizations mentioned in the letters.
All the senders call on the recipients to join them “on the square near the Verkhovna Rada” on December 14 to ensure “that the power belongs to the common people.” Each email contains threats, with the senders saying that if they are not heard, they will be bombing “state administration bodies and their families who live in prosperity.” They also call for mass murder.
Furthermore, the senders use hate speech and insults referring to the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
All the letters contain thanks to the Khimprom cartel and "the administration of the darknet forum Rutor" for “training and funding,” with a link to join them on social media. According to “Slidstvo.Info”, the drug cartel Khimprom is a criminal group that may be behind the synthetic drug dealing network in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine has opened multiple cases against the cartel and its activities have been described in dozens of court rulings. The darknet forum Rutor is a real community on the Internet shadow market, offering customers both “illegal transactions” and “gambling entertainment.”
The email domains of the senders lead to websites of various foreign companies, including the Japanese electrical company Idea Electric Industries Co, the Japanese spa Bijin-yu Shofuen, the Beauty EST beauty salon in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and the Vietnamese Wyndham Legend Halong Hotel.
9. Zprz.City receives bomb threats via email
12.12.2024 The media outlet Zprz.City received an email threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations on December 12. The letters also mention bombs planted at media offices in Kyiv and other oblasts of Ukraine.
The media outlet confirmed receiving the email to Natalia Vyhovska, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast.
In addition to Zprz.City, four more Zaporizhzhia media outlets received such letters on December 12: Pershyi Zaporizkyi, Accent, Zaporizhzhia Investigation Center, and Inform.zp.ua. In total, the news outlets received seven letters with similar content.
The senders threaten to bomb Mykolaiv Channel 2, Radio Knyha, Rivne 1, BC Kremenchuk 2, Radio Lviv, UNIAN, and Radio Liberty.
Three letters were signed as Petro Pavlovych Vrublevskyi, who calls himself a combat veteran and a “war invalid” “who lost his health in the war for Ukraine and his family.” Other senders had female names: Natalia Viktorivna Lozova, Tetyana Volodymyrivna Stepanova, Yulia Pavlivna Bilyak, Daryna Oleksandrivna Fedorenko, but the content of the emails was nearly identical.
The letters list the objects where bombs have allegedly been planted and the sender's intention to blow them up. The lists of mined objects contain various addresses in Kyiv and other oblasts, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Rivne, Mykolaiv, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, and Kryvyi Rih. The sender claims that schools, embassies, police, a healthcare center, hotels, media offices, and universities have been mined.
The emails use many loanwords from Russian, stylistically incorrect vocabulary, and have grammar errors. For instance, in all the emails, the names of the “mined” universities across Ukraine are written in Russian. There are also factual errors in the names and addresses of the sites: namely, some of the media outlets mentioned do not exist or their addresses are invalid. There are also some errors in the listings of other institutions and organizations mentioned in the letters.
All the senders call on the recipients to join them “on the square near the Verkhovna Rada” on December 14 to ensure “that the power belongs to the common people.” Each email contains threats, with the senders saying that if they are not heard, they will be bombing “state administration bodies and their families who live in prosperity.” They also call for mass murder.
Furthermore, the senders use hate speech and insults referring to the current President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
All the letters contain thanks to the Khimprom cartel and "the administration of the darknet forum Rutor" for “training and funding,” with a link to join them on social media. According to “Slidstvo.Info”, the drug cartel Khimprom is a criminal group that may be behind the synthetic drug dealing network in Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine has opened multiple cases against the cartel and its activities have been described in dozens of court rulings. The darknet forum Rutor is a real community on the Internet shadow market, offering customers both “illegal transactions” and “gambling entertainment.”
The email domains of the senders lead to websites of various foreign companies, including the Japanese electrical company Idea Electric Industries Co, the Japanese spa Bijin-yu Shofuen, the Beauty EST beauty salon in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, and the Vietnamese Wyndham Legend Halong Hotel.
10. Detector Media received bomb threats as well
12.12.2024 Detector Media received several emails threatening to bomb media offices, various institutions and organizations in Kyiv and across Ukraine to their editorial inbox on December 12, the media outlet reports on their website.
The emails came from different senders, but from the same domain. Their content is similar to the letters that arrived during previous waves of false bomb reports.
The senders usually call themselves as “ATO veterans” and “war invalids”, claiming to have planted a “makeshift explosive device” in the media outlet's office building, which they threaten to remotely activate within five days.
The letters also usually list the addresses of various institutions, schools, and media offices that were also allegedly mined, including the US and Switzerland embassies. However, the text lists the names of media outlets and their addresses that do not actually exist, such as “the TV Channel Lviv on Lomonosova Street in Lviv” (such a TV channel does not exist in Lviv, and the listed street was renamed back in 1993).
The author of several letters promises to “give Ukraine back to the people”, calls to “overthrow the government in Ukraine through terror,” to join a rally and “seize power by force,” and uses hate speech referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
As reported earlier, on December 12, the PBC branches Suspilne Rivne and Suspilne Lutsk received emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office. Five Zaporizhzhia media outlets received emails threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations. This is the third wave of bomb threats.
National Police spokeswoman Yulia Hirdvilis has told Hromadske Radio that the December 12 bomb threats were sent to email inboxes of state and local authorities, schools, businesses, and other institutions. The police has processed over 75% of the bomb warnings and discovered no explosives.
11. Volyn media outlet Buh also received emails threatening terrorism acts across Ukraine
12.12.2024 The Volyn online news outlet Buh received two warnings of bomb attacks across the country in their editorial inbox on December 12, website editor Lyudmyla Romanchuk reported to Maya Holub, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Volyn oblast.
She showed the IMI representative screenshots of the emails, where the sender claims to have spent two weeks planting explosive devices across Ukraine.
They ask to take the bomb threats seriously. The letter mentions bombs being planted in seven buildings across the country, listing the specific addresses. Namely, they were located in Kyiv, Odesa, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.
As reported earlier, on December 12, the PBC branches Suspilne Rivne and Suspilne Lutsk received emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office. Five Zaporizhzhia media outlets received emails threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations, as did Detector Media.
12. ZHAR.INFO journalist receives another bomb threat via email
12.12.2024 On December 12, the ZHAR.INFO founder and journalist Alyona Bereza, received an email from someone claiming to be an “ATO participant” who claimed to have planted a bomb in the building where the media outlet's office is located. The email also mentioned other supposedly mined facilities in different oblasts, Alyona Bereza reported to the Institute of Mass Information.
“This is not the first letter of similar content that I have received to my personal official inbox. Previously, there was an email that looked like it had been translated from Russian through an automated translator. This time, the information is presented somewhat better. However, there are some inaccuracies: the sender claims to be a woman who says it is “SBU data”, and halfway through they switch to the masculine pronouns. It feels like the enemy really wants us to be emotionally unstable in addition to the shelling,” says Alyona Bereza.
The sender also claimed to be a “war invalid” and said that they had planted a “makeshift explosive device” in the office building, threatening to activate it remotely within five days.
The email listed seven more addresses: a school in Odesa, the Tanzanian embassy in Ukraine, a district police department in Lviv, the Kyiv City Clinical Hospital and a hotel in the capital, a broadcasting station in Ivano-Frankivsk, and the Odesa National Polytechnic University.
As reported earlier, on December 12, the PBC branches Suspilne Rivne and Suspilne Lutsk received emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office. Five Zaporizhzhia media outlets received emails threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations, as did Detector Media and the Volyn news outlet Buh.
13. Volyn Online receives bomb threats
12.12.2024 The Lutsk news outlet Volyn Online received an email warning of bombs allegedly planted in two embassies in Kyiv, as well as elsewhere across Ukraine, on December 12, reports Volyn Online editor Mariana Metelska to Maya Holub, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Volyn oblast.
Metelska showed the IMI representative a screenshot of the email saying that the sender had planted bombs at the US and Switzerland embassies in Kyiv.
The sender asks to take the letter seriously, adding that they had spent two weeks planting explosive devices in different oblasts across Ukraine.
“I planted a bomb in your building, there is a makeshift device in the building, I will activate it within 5 days. You won't be able to detect it because I was trained in mine detection and know how to hide explosives from dog handlers," the letter said.
Other media outlets received similar emails on the same day.
As reported earlier, on December 12, the PBC branches Suspilne Rivne and Suspilne Lutsk received emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office. Five Zaporizhzhia media outlets received emails threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations, as did Detector Media, the Volyn news outlet Buh, ZHAR.INFO founder and journalist, IMI representative in Khmelnytskyi oblast Alyona Bereza, and journalist, IMI representative in Rivne oblast Hanna Kalaur.
14. Espreso TV receives threats of bombs in their office as well
12.12.2024 On December 12, Espreso received an email claiming that a bomb had been planted in the editorial office building, as well as other media offices, institutions, and organizations across Ukraine, the news outlet reports on their website.
According to the media outlet, the sender, who called himself an “ATO veteran” and “a war invalid,” claimed to have planted a “makeshift explosive device” in the office building, threatening to activate it remotely within five days.
He listed the addresses of the institutions where bombs allegedly had been planted. And, although the address of Espreso was not listed, the letter said: “I have planted a bomb in your building.”
The listed institutions include the US Embassy and the police department at the Boryspil airport.
The sender calls to “join a rally against the government's abuse of power,” to “seize power by force,” and uses hate speech targeting President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife.
As reported earlier, on December 12, the PBC branches Suspilne Rivne and Suspilne Lutsk received emails claiming a bomb had been planted in their office. Five Zaporizhzhia media outlets received emails threatening to explode the buildings housing various institutions and organizations, as did Detector Media, the Volyn news outlet Buh, ZHAR.INFO founder and journalist, IMI representative in Khmelnytskyi oblast Alyona Bereza, IMI representative in Rivne oblast Hanna Kalaur, and Lutsk-based media outlet Volyn Online.
15. Kropyvnytskyi’s Hrechka receives bomb threats
12.12.2024 Kropyvnytskyi online news outlet Hrechka received bomb threats via email twice in one day, editor Anastasia Dziubak reported to the regional Institute of Mass Information representative Pavlo Lisnychenko.
The messages were similar, with the senders claiming to be "ATO veterans" and threatening to bomb various facilities – embassies, hospitals, hotels, and schools. In one of the letters that arrived to both outlets' inboxes, the sender also offered to join his Telegram channel, which does not exist at the handle listed in the email.
The editor says they rarely take such emails seriously, but if the letter mentions objects located in Kirovohradska oblast, they pass the information to the police just in case.
16. Kropyvnytskyi’s Tochka Dostupu receives bomb threats
12.12.2024 Kropyvnytskyi online news outlet Tochka Dostupu received bomb threats via email twice in one day, journalist Kateryna Fedchenko reported to the regional Institute of Mass Information representative Pavlo Lisnychenko.
The messages were similar, with the senders claiming to be "ATO veterans" and threatening to bomb various facilities – embassies, hospitals, hotels, and schools. In one of the letters that arrived to both outlets' inboxes, the sender also offered to join his Telegram channel, which does not exist at the handle listed in the email.
"These emails often end up in the spam folder, so we don't notice them right away. Moreover, we know that this is part of the Russians' information war and they are deliberately 'mining' facilities in various cities across the country. The letter arouses great suspicion, starting from the address, ending with the gross grammatical errors and manipulative text. Which is why we do not respond to such provocations. However, if it were a real threat, of course we would have reported it to the police," commented Tochka Dostupu journalist Kateryna Fedchenko.
Legal pressure – 2
1. Russia arrests DW journalist in absentia for reporting from Sudzha
04.12.2024 A Russian court has arrested Germany's DW reporter Nicholas Connolly in absentia on charges of illegally crossing Russia's border.
The Leninsky District Court of Kursk passed the ruling at the request of the regional FSB branch's border guard department, DW reports, citing the regional judiciary's press office.
The journalist, whom Russia previously put on federal, interstate, and international wanted lists, will be taken into custody in the event of being detained in Russia or immediately after extradition.
On August 22, DW published Connolly's report from Sudzha. In it, the journalist visits the city accompanied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and talks to the locals, who say that they were left without electricity, water or phone connection.
In late August 2024, the FSB opened a case against DW reporter Nicholas Connolly for alleged illegal crossing of Russia's border.
Commenting on this, the journalist noted that such a ruling was unsurprising to him. "I think that was all to be expected. They had done this to other journalists that had gone there. This is just par for the course, basically." Connolly said he would continue to cover developments in both Ukraine and Russia as part of a Ukrainian crew and the decision of the Russian security forces would not affect his work.
In September 2024, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put Nick Connolly on federal, interstate, and international wanted persons lists.
2. Russian court detains Hromadske journalist in absentia for reporting from Kursk
17.12.2024 A court in Kursk, Russia, has taken Hromadske journalist Diana Butsko into custody in absentia for her reporting from Sudzha at the onset of the Ukrainian offensive in the region.
According to Hromadske, the Russian propaganda agency TASS reported on the court ruling on December 6, citing the joint press office of the Kursk region's judiciary.
The Russian investigators claim that Diana illegally crossed Russia's state border on August 6; the journalist was assigned the penalty as part of this case.
Diana commented on the news as follows: “It’s a bit strange that the Russian 'investigators' couldn’t even get the date of the report right. We were not in Sudzha on August 6. Do better, FSB comrades!”
In August 2024, the Federal Security Service of Russia opened cases against seven journalists, including Hromadske journalist Diana Butsko, for illegally crossing the border and filming in the Sudzha area. Later, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put the seven Ukrainian and foreign journalists on the wanted list.
Cyber attacks – 3
1. Hackers target telecom provider, stream Russian propaganda on Ukrainian channels
05.12.2024 Multiple telecom providers broadcasting Ukrainian TV channels were hacked and made to stream pro-Russian clips on December 5, reports Suspilne, citing Triolan.
The provider noted that they would resolve the signal problem by around 10:00 p.m.
“Unfortunately, we detected unauthorized interference in our network, which affected the cable television operations. We are already working to resolve the problem and are making every effort to restore the service as soon as possible,” the company’s chatbot said.
The provider also warned of a phishing website disguised as the Triolan website, which invites users to install extra drivers.
“We warn you not to install any additional drivers. We do not update any services that require you to update drivers. Take extra care to check the name of the website you are on,” the company added.
As IMI reported, on May 9, 2024, Russian hackers targeted the satellite broadcast of the StarLightMedia channels, Inter and Dim, and streamed the parade in Moscow. Later, the signal of the StarLightMedia channels and Inter was restored. The channels promptly launched a security protocol to disable the signal.
2. Hackers target Espreso broadcast, attempt to stream propaganda clip
16.12.2024 The TV channel Espreso was targeted by hackers today, December 16. The channel’s press office reported this, according to the channel's website.
The channel was attacked at 12:50. The hackers gained unauthorized access to the channel’s server and attempted to stream a video clip with a fake address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Russian. The clip parrots the Russian psyop narratives about mobilization in Ukraine.
“This allows us to conclude that Russian hackers are involved in the attack,” the channel notes.
However, the attack was detected in time and promptly repelled by switching the signal. The channel notes that they are working to boost the security of all their systems.
Espreso TV noted that they continue to operate as usual and are taking additional action to strengthen cybersecurity.
On February 19, 2024, hackers accessed the Espreso broadcasting system and used it to stream a short video with footage of ruined Ukrainian cities, a clip of Joe Biden and a call to stop, implying the USA's complicity in the war in Ukraine. The channel suspects Russian involvement in the attack. The channel contacted the police over unauthorized interference in the digital communication networks under martial law.
3. Chernihiv's Cheline sustains a cyber attack, suspects Russia
23.12.2024 Chernihiv-based online media outlet Cheline sustained a cyber attack on December 22, editor Pavlo Solodovnyk reports to the regional Institute of Mass Information representative Pavlo Pushchenko.
The media outlet’s system administrator Oleksandr Fedorok says that the website “went down” yesterday evening and the admin panel was not working. When rebooting the website’s server did not help, he realized that it was a cyberattack. Then, the under attack mode was turned on, disabling all bots, and the defense worked.
“Now the website works as usual,” Oleksandr Fedorok added.
Pavlo Solodovnyk believes Russia was directly involved in the cyberattack. According to him, Russian hackers target those who work for Ukraine's victory and are patriotically-minded.
“This is not the first time, especially since the start of the full-scale invasion. There have even been cases when the Russian tricolor was 'posted' on the website,” Pavlo Solodovnyk noted.
Recently, Russia-affiliated actors hacked Ukraine's state registers.
Media outlets closing down due to Russia's war on Ukraine – 2
1. Kropyvnytskyi's Nova Hazeta to go out of print in 2025
24.12.2024 The Kropyvnytskyi oblast newspaper Nova Hazeta is closing down and will go out of print starting 2025, editor Inna Danilchenko reported in a comment to Pavlo Lisnychenko, the regional Institute of Mass Information representative.
The editor said that the closure was caused by their inability to produce quality product with the funding that the media outlet can afford right now. In fact, all the monety that the newspaper currently earns goes to cover printing and distribution costs.
“Our task for 2024 as the staff of a printed newspaper was to survive until the end of the year financially and to keep the readers. We are closing our newspaper down with a good print run of 7 thousand copies. That is, we did not kill it. It did not collapse. This is our team's decision, a balanced and reasonable one,” Inna Danilchenko says.
Starting 2025, the entire Nova Hazeta team will be moving to full-time work at the online media outlet Persha Elektronna Hazeta, which the media professionals have been closely collaborating with before.
2. Chernihiv oblast newspaper Slovo Varvynshchyny goes out of print
26.12.2024 The Chernihiv oblast newspaper Slovo Varvynshchyny is temporarily going out of print due to having no funding for the next six months, editor Yevhenia Zima announced on the newspaper's Facebook page.
"Unfortunately, this is how things are. We are forced to suspend the newspaper's print releases, since we will not have sufficient financial resources for this in the next six months," the editor wrote.
She noted that as of December 2024, the newspaper's print run was 1,600 copies, and by January 2025, money for about a thousand copies could be collected by subscription, which makes it impossible to release the newspaper.
Another factor that led to the closure is the lack of staff.
"There are critically few employees, which means that everyone is working for several people," the post says.
The printing has been suspended for now, but the website and social media pages are operational.
Subscribers' money are in Ukrposhta's account, so the company will give them refunds after the subscription campaign is completed.
Earlier, Ripky district newspaper Zhyttya Polissya (Chernihiv oblast) stopped printing for several weeks due to the accountant who was also responsible for doing layouts being conscripted.
On December 5, 2024, the last issue of the newspaper Visti Borznyanshchyny, one of the oldest district newspapers in Chernihiv oblast, was released.
CRIMEA – 1
1. Crimean occupation court fines Qırım chief editor for "abusing freedom of information"
16.12.2024 The Russia-installed Zaliznychnyi District Court of Simferopol (AR Crimea) has fined Bekir Mamutov, chief editor of the Crimean Tatar newspaper Qırım, 4,000 rubles (UAH 1,606) for publishing a biography of a human rights advocate mentioning that she has worked for Voice of America and Radio Liberty, Crimean Process reports.
Judge Maria Domnikova convicted him of “abusing freedom of information.” This is the third case against Bekir Mamutov this year, the human rights advocates say. Russia has declared Voice of America and Radio Liberty “foreign agents” and all references to them must mention this fact.
The no audience was present at the hearing, as nobody was allowed into the courthouse, allegedly to prevent the threat of terrorism. The human rights activists also note that the ruling was passed by a judge whom a Ukrainian court sentenced in absentia to 13 years in prison for high treason in May of this year.
In late May, two cases against Qırım were opened: for "discrediting the Russian Armed Forces and disseminating clearly false information presented as reliable information." The "Center E" claims that a post by Bekir Mamutov "distributed information aimed at discrediting the deployment of the Russian Armed Forces to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, to maintain international peace and security as part of the efforts to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine." In this way, the newspaper "expressed its disagreement with the conduct of the SVO," according to operative Korenovsky, thus committing an offense under Part 1 of Article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
On 7 June, 2024, the Russia-installed Kyiv District Court of Simferopol fined the newspaper Qirim 300 thousand rubles (approximately 140,230 hryvnias) for "discrediting the Russian Federation Armed Forces." Later, the court dismissed the newspaper's appeal and upheld the fine.
THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINE'S CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
Obstruction of legal reporting – 2
1. Espreso journalist attacked in Kremenchuk
10.12.2024 Espreso TV journalist Maria Ivanovska was attacked by unknown persons while reporting in Kremenchuk (Poltava oblast) on December 9. The channel aired a story about this, and the journalist reported it on Facebook and shared the details with Nadia Kucher, the Poltava representative of the Institute of Mass Information.
According to the story, Maria Ivanovska was in Kremenchuk to investigate the supply of Russian oil products to Ukraine. In the released video, an unknown man approaches the journalist, starts threatening to break her phone and uses his car to block the journalist's exit from the place where she was collecting material for the investigation. He forbade the journalist to film, saying that it was prohibited because it was a "restricted access facility." The journalist, in turn, replied that she was not at a restricted access facility, but in a thicket.
After a while, several more men in civilian clothes arrived at the scene, behaving aggressively. At a later point in the video, a man claims to be from a security service. The journalist asks if he meant the Security Service of Ukraine. The man does not answer, but threatens that if she “does not delete the information from the phone, she will be taken to a different place.”
The journalist called the police to the scene and wrote a statement on obstruction of reporting.
Maria Ivanovska told the IMI representative that the phone remained intact, but she could not leave until the police helped her.
“The phone is intact, but a large number of aggressive men later joined the man who forbade us to film and blocked our exit. We were only able to leave the place by calling the police,” the journalist said.
Kremenchuk police spokesperson Anna Vasenko said in a comment to the IMI that there are recommended signs prohibiting photography and video recording on the highway that the TV channel’s filming crew was driving along. Anna Vasenko confirmed that the Espreso journalist had filed a statement. "It is being looked into, all the details will be reported later," she said.
Maria Ivanovska reported that today, December 10, she, the driver, and the cameraman were questioned by the police. The journalist assures that she was not at a restricted facility and saw no signs suggesting she was. She explained that two companies were registered in the place where she was filming, which she says are both involved in criminal law cases regarding the supply of Russian oil products, namely methanol, disguised as a solvent, to Ukraine.
2. Defendants' relatives prevent Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists from entering court hearing
18.12.2024 A journalist and camerawoman with Suspilne were prevented from entering a hearing in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr on December 18. The case concerns a group of men from Korostyshiv who are suspected of racketeering, Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko reports to Oksana Trokoz, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zhytomyr oblast.
He noted that there were no other journalists present besides Suspilne and the incident occurred before the start of the hearing: relatives of the defendants blocked the door, pushing the journalists away, shouting and declaring that they would not be entering until all the relatives are let in. Court security did not intervene in the situation, which forced the journalists to call the police. Only after the police arrived were the journalists finally allowed into the courtroom.
“There are eight defendants in the case, who were brought into the courtroom and then they started to let people in. There were many relatives. At a certain point, the court security told the relatives: 'Stop, the filming crew is entering now.' These were two people – journalist Kateryna Moroz and camerawoman Tetyana Ryvak. The relatives started saying: 'No, that won’t happen, they won’t be coming in, we will be coming in.' They started being aggressive towards the filming crew. Journalist Kateryna Moroz was grabbed by the arms, shaken, pushed against the wall; the journalists were being attacked. There were verbal threats, such as: 'Be grateful that you weren’t beaten.' The court security stood by at that time and made no attempt to protect the journalists. I see this as a problem,” said Dmytro Klymenko.
The journalist called the editorial office and the police. Editor Dmytro Klymenko also called the prosecutor's hotline and reported the violation of journalists' rights and obstruction of their legal professional work.
“The squad of operatives arrived, and the court security guards finally let our filming crew in. When I arrived at the court, the filming crew was already inside,” Dmytro said.
Later, the journalists filmed a news story about the high-profile hearing, recorded comments from all parties, and are now working on releasing the report.
“As soon as we finish the story, we will file a complaint with the police. Our first task was to report on the process, which we did. Fortunately, Kateryna and Tetyana have no physical injuries, but they are mentally distressed, as it was a significant moral pressure. Moreover, the case is high-profile, with serious charges. Therefore, the state of both the journalist's and the camerawoman's mental health remains difficult,” said Dmytro.
He noted that the moment of obstruction was captured on video and will be released later.
As reported by Suspilne Zhytomyr, the Korostyshiv racketeers case has been under investigation since August 2023, when a group of people suspected of extortion, kidnapping, and torture was detained in Zhytomyr oblast. One of the victims is a UAF serviceman. He was forced to pay 190 thousand hryvnias of a non-existing debt.
One of the defendants is a current deputy of the Korostyshiv City Council, who is suspected of involvement in an organized criminal group. On December 18, he was placed under 24-hour house arrest.
There have been repeated problems with mass media representatives being admitted to court hearings while his case has been trid. Similar situations were also recorded in July 2024, when journalists' access was restricted under various pretexts.
INDIRECT PRESSURE
Other cases of indirect pressure – 2
1. Rivne website posts mudslinging content about Chetverta Vlada investigators
09.12.2024 A prominent Rivne oblast website Rivnenski Novyny shared mudslinging content about the Chetverta Vlada Agency of Investigative Journalism editors, Volodymyr and Antonina Torbich.
This was reported by Hanna Kalaur, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Rivne oblast, who was investigating to identify the persons behind the smear campaign.
In the two articles, the anonymous author writes about the couple's divorce hearing in a manipulative manner and reports on a likely paid-for "rally" in front of the Rivne City Court, with people holding up provocative posters about Volodymyr Torbich.
As the IMI representative notes, Rivnenski Novyny's alleged chief editor Andriy Androschuk did not comment on the articles posted on his website and pretended to be someone else while talking to her.
Rivnenski Novyny posting smear content targeting Chetverta Vlada is a continuation of the negative campaigning that the media outlet faced in November.
The first Rivnenski Novyny article, titled "Rivne's well-known mud slinger divorces his journalist wife" and posted on December 3, reports on a court hearing regarding the Torbichs’ divorce. In the article, the anonymous author resorts to insulting Volodymyr Torbich, calling him a "mud slinger" and a yellow journalist. They cite rumors and comments from unnamed people on social media and speculate on the reasons for the divorce.
The second article was published on December 4 under the headline “Rivne's well-known mudslinger did not appear at the court hearing on his divorce.” It covered a "rally" next to the Rivne City Court, where several people held up posters condemning Volodymyr Torbich.
The anonymous author explains the people with posters as follows: "Next to the courthouse, Volodymyr Torbich was greeted by grateful readers of his website and Rivne's concerned citizens who wanted to personally ask him why he was doing that to his own wife."
Furthermore, the artice resorts to insults, manipulations, and spreading rumors about the couple. The two articles feature no comments from either Antonina or Volodymyr Torbich.
Rivnenski Novyny was founded by Andriy Androshchuk, the former Rivne Oblast Administration chair's advisor, who is also a co-founder of the NGO Rivnenski Novyny, according to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Organizations (USR).
In 2017, Chetverta Vlada initiated a signature collection among Rivne journalists and activists demanding political accountability for Andriy Androshchuk and his dismissal from office due to his attempt to harass journalist Inna Biletska, who worked consistently to expose corruption and abuse of power in Rivne oblast. In 2021, Chetverta Vlada reported that Androshchuk had caused a traffic accident while intoxicated.
The IMI representative points out that Rivnenski Novyny was on this year's list of the most popular online news media in Rivne, in particular, due to actively sharing content in the large Ridne Rivne community on Viber.
The Rivne News website contains no information about its employees and editors. However, Andriy Androshchuk claimed to be the Rivnenski Novyny chief editor as recently as 2019.
The IMI representative asked Andriy Androshchuk for a comment on the articles about the Torbichs. Hanna Kalaur called his personal number listed in the Unified State Register of Individual Entrepreneurs as the individual entrepreneur number of Andriy Androshchuk. However, when the IMI representative asked if she was talking to Andriy Vasylyovych, the Rivnenski Novyny editor, he replied: "No, this is Stepan Ivanovich, you are mistaken."
Hanna Kalaur found out that users in several phone number identifying apps have the number she used to contact Andriy Androshchuk listed as “Andriy Androshchuk,” “Rivne News,” “Ridne Rivne,” etc.
In addition, the IMI representative addressed Androshchuk in writing, texting him on Telegram to ask about the purpose of posting such content about the Torbichs. He read the message, but did not respond. The IMI is ready to report on his position when he replies.
As reported earlier, there were two instances of negative campaigning targeting Chetverta Vlada on three different websites in November. The team believes the previous materials had to do with the release of an article criticizing the Rivne City Council chief of communications, Yana Yevtushok. According to the investigators, members of the party/NGO Rivne Razom, founded by the current acting mayor of Rivne, Victor Shakyrzyan, are involved in the negative campaigning. The team also suggests that Viktor Shakyrzyan’s business partner and the godfather of his child, Roman Kurys, is involved in both the previous and later cases of mudslinging targeting the media outlet.
In his comment to the IMI representative, Chetverta Vlada chief editor Volodymyr Torbich said that the team was collecting all the information about the organized mudslinging campaign and about the people involved in it.
“I see this campaign as persecution of an independent media outlet that consistently exposes the abuses by the group of officials and businessmen that currently holds power in the Rivne community. We are consulting with lawyers regarding a proper legal response. The mudslingers are not accountable for their words, so they spread false and manipulative information on various anonymous websites and Telegram channels, dumpster media. And now they have also resorted to bribing elderly people who hid their faces behind posters that they were given to hold near the courthouse,” Torbich said.
According to Volodymyr, the organizers of the negative campaigning purposefully interfere in the private lives of the team and harass Volodymyr and Antonina's children.
“The real estate developer Roman Kurys has already repeatedly lied about my sons in conversations with our journalists, calling my son gay among other things. Then these rumors spread on social media with links to the smear content about the team. This slander and mudslinging also reaches my sick mother when her friends show it to her. It reminded me of the Poroshenko era harrassment targeting the head of the Anti-Corruption Action Center, Vitaliy Shabunin. He was targeted with smear content and his relatives were pressured. Well, we see where those who did this or allowed it to happen are now, and that Shabunin continues to expose corrupt officials today. This is the diagnosis for this group of officials and businessmen, and the same fate will befall them. For now, we keep working and exposing this gang," Volodymyr Torbich commented.
The IMI asked Roman Kurys to comment on the situation, as the team associates the negative campaigning with his influence.
“If there is a situation, there are law enforcement agencies. Please, let these people contact them. They will probably figure it out. I have nothing to do with this situation,” Roman Kurys replied when asked whether he had anything to do with the smear content about the editors’ family.
Following the previous cases of mudslinging targeting Chetverta Vlada, the IMI contacted the NGO Rivne Razom and Rivne City Council chief of communications, Yana Yevtushok. However, both refused to comment.
2. Kremenchutska Hazeta chief editor files police statement on harrassment
10.12.2024 Kremenchutska Hazeta (Poltava oblast) chief editor Oleh Bulashev filed a statement with the police on December 10, saying that the media outlet Kremenchuk Today and the TV channel Kremenchuk, as well as Facebook user Lazor Lesnin, threaten his health and life due to his reporting.
The journalist reported this to Nadia Kucher, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Poltava oblast.
According to Bulashev, there are rumors and unverified information shared around about him.
“Recently, my life and health have been threatened by a group of people, some of whom are most likely fictitious, and some work at the Kremenchuk Municipal Television Company (“Kremenchuk” – author’s note). They smear my name, fail to check rumors, report unverified information on air and post it on social media," he said.
Oleh Bulashev cited a Facebook post by user Lazor Lesnin, which, he added, contains false information about him. The post reads: "I have learned something I have no right to keep silent about. In 2021, an underage boy was sexually assaulted at an LGBT party in Odesa. The parents complained to the police, but it was hushed up. It is reported that a Poltava oblast journalist Oleh B. was present at the party. And apparently it was he who, through acquaintances in the police, asked not to proceed with the case. I am checking the information. When I receive confirmation, I will publish everything, including the journalist's name."
The Lazor Lesnin page also has a post alleging the "journalist Oleh B. attended an LGBT party where actions against an underage boy were committed."
Oleg Bulashev calls the posts an outright lie and adds that journalists from the Kremenchuk municipal TV channel “Kremenchuk” joined in spreading fabricated defamatory information about him.
“In early December, they aired a story titled 'Who is behind the cyberbullying and political persecution of the deputy mayor Olha Usanova.' Then came the story 'How Kremenchukska Hazeta whitewashes their people while groundlessly accusing others.' And the media outlet Kremenchuk Today published an article titled: 'Underage sex scandal: mysteries of the Odesa voyage of Zhevago's journalist Bulashev.' These publications were followed by deat threats and intimidation, with unknown passersby intimidating me right in the street,” Bulashev said.
The journalist called the reports a clearly pre-planned mass attack on him and noted that his well-being had significantly deteriorated over the past month.
“I feel very unwell now, but I am well aware that their criminal plan was aimed at taking my life through verbal bullying,” the journalist says. He adds that he considers such content about him to be obstruction of legal professional work of journalists.
In 2023, Oleh Bulashev reported that an unknown man had threatened to "drown him in concrete." He also claimed that the anonymous website Kremenchuk Today was pressuring him by publishing offensive and defamatory content about his journalistic work.
On January 18, 2024, the Kremenchuk police reported that they were investigating the local anonymous news website Kremenchuk Today. In the summer of 2023 "Kremenchuk Today" accused Kremenchutska Hazeta chief editor Oleh Bulashev of working for the enemy. Bulashev called the reports "lies and nonsense."
The IMI also reported that the confrontation between "Kremenchuk Today" and "Kremenchukska Hazeta" has been going on for a long time; there have been appeals to the Independent Media Council and the Mediacheck. The independent media examination showed violations of the Ukrainian Journalist's Code of Ethics by both websites.
ONLINE PRESSURE
Cyber attacks – 1
1. Kropyvnytskyi's Hrechka receives phishing emails posing as Vchasno
24.12.2024 Kropyvnytskyi online news outlet Hrechka received phishing emails twice in one day, editor Anastasia Dzyubak reports to Pavlo Lisnychenko, the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information.
Both emails claimed to be from the online digital document management service Vchasno. The emails had PDF files attached with payment instructions and linked addresses, which the senders instructed the journalists to open.
“This is not our first time, so we do not respond to such provocations. Moreover, the scammers listed the addressee as a LLC, which is an acronym our office has not used in a long time. So this was another 'do not open' flag,” commented Anastasia Dzyubak.
Let us remind you that this is the fifth and sixth phishing emails that Hrechka has received to its editorial email in the last three months.
LEGAL PRESSURE
Frivolous lawsuits against journalists – 1
1. Ex-judge whose Russian passport was discovered by Skhemy sues the journalist and Radio Liberty
23.12.2024 Former judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court Lyudmyla Arestova has filed a defamation lawsuit against the Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and Skhemy journalist Heorhiy Shabayev, who discovered her Russian citizenship in the summer of 2023, Radio Liberty reports.
The first preparatory hearing is to take place in the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv on December 24, at 1:00 p.m. According to public data from the court registry, the court received Arestova's lawsuit on July 15. Judge Iryna Makarenko will be trying the case.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the State Treasury Service of Ukraine are co-defendants in the case. Arestova accuses the SBI of unlawfully disclosing information about her in response to a query from Skhemy (a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty project) and demands that the Treasury pay her UAH 20,000 in moral damages for this.
Arestova is also asking the court to recover a total of UAH 180,000 in moral damages from journalist Heorhiy Shabayev and the Ukrainian service of Radio Liberty. In her lawsuit, Arestova is asking to declare the information about her Russian citizenship, reported in the Skhemy investigation released on July 13, 2023, as “unreliable and defamatory of honor, dignity and business reputation,” and to remove her photos, which Skhemy found in open sources, from the material.
Lawyer Vera Krat, who represents the media outlet in court, considers Arestova’s lawsuit against the journalists to be frivolous.
“The journalists acted in good faith in preparing the investigation in compliance with the journalistic standards and the current legislation. The rights of the plaintiff or her family members were not violated. We will prove that the journalists are in the right by all legal means,” Krat said.
On December 10, the High Council of Justice dismissed Lyudmyla Arestova from the position of judge of the Donetsk District Administrative Court due to her Russian citizenship.
Skhemy released their investigation into the Russian citizenship of Donetsk District Administrative Court judge Lyudmyla Arestova in July 2023. They cited an extract from the automated system Rospasport. The document indicates that Arestova received her Russian passport on the basis of the “agreement on the accession of Crimea to Russia” in 2014. According to it, citizens of Ukraine and stateless persons who were permanently residing on the peninsula at that time were recognized as citizens of Russia.
Skhemy also found evidence of Arestova using her Russian passport: in May 2014, Arestova flew to Moscow. On May 11, she flew on a Simferopol-Domodedovo flight and returned to Crimea three days later. In both cases, the judge used the Russian passport.
In her comment to Skhemy, Judge Arestova denied holding Russian citizenship.
Other instances of legal pressure – 1
1. Court orders Hromadske to take down the Portnov investigation
13.12.2024 The Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the ruling by the Pechersk District Court and ordered Hromadske to take down the investigation into Andriy Portnov, the former deputy head of Viktor Yanukovych's administration. The team says they disagree with the verdict and will appeal to the Supreme Court.
The team recalled that in August, the Pechersk District Court judge Oleksiy Sokolov satisfied all of Portnov’s claims against Hromadske.
As Suspilne remarks, Hromadske has audio recordings of phone conversations between Portnov and former Ukrainian officials. They suggest that Portnov and his interlocutors were somehow involved in the processes related to the occupation of Crimea by Russia.
The court ordered the media outlet to retract information reported in the investigation “How they robbed us of Crimea: exclusive records” and to take down the content from YouTube, the website, and social media. The editorial team was also orderd to pay over UAH 170,000 for Portnov's legal assistance and over UAH 14,000 in court fees.
Hromadske filed an appeal against the ruling, which was considered on December 9, 2024. At the hearing, the team's representative argued that the disputed quotes from the investigation are the subjective opinion of the authors and not factual data that can be declared false.
In turn, Portnov’s lawyer Karina Mikityan called the Pechersk District Court’s ruling “reasonable and lawful,” claiming that there was no evidence to prove illegal actions on Portnov's part and remarking that no case had been opened against him.
The Kyiv Court of Appeal satisfied Hromadske’s complaint in part, reducing the sum of legal assistance compensation from UAH 170,000 to UAH 56,000. However, the court ordered the editorial office to pay an extra UAH 15,000 for the services of Portnov’s lawyer in the appeal.
The other part of the Pechersk Court’s ruling was left unchanged: Hromadske must still retract the information from the investigation and take it down.
“I did not claim that Portnov is a collaborator, traitor, or a pro-Russian figure, I was just posing a question: can he be called that? My main purpose was to highlight the absurdity of the ruling by the Pechersk District Court, which sided with Portnov in the case against the Anti-Corruption Action Center and banned the use of these words against him,” responded Yaroslava Volvach, the author of the investigation.
According to the journalist, Portnov’s lawyer “intentionally omitted” the words “probably” and “as our data suggests” from the disputed quotes from the investigation. As if to frame a subjective opinion as a statement of fact.
“As for the key issue that Portnov avoids in his lawsuit, these are the records that suggest his possible involvement in the processes related to the occupation of Crimea, and this issue should be checked by the law enforcement,” the investigator said.
Hromadske is preparing a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court.
In September 2024, the Kyiv Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint filed by Natalia Sedletska, the director of Radio Liberty's Kyiv bureau and of the "Skhemy" project, in the defamation lawsuit by Andriy Portnov, an ex-deputy and former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration. The Court upheld the ruling by the Pechersk District Court, who judged in Portnov's favor.
Portnov sued Sedletska and multiple other media outlets in the fall of 2020 over her Facebook post dated August 17, 2020 – the day a "Skhemy" corporate car was set on fire. In the post, Sedletska mentioned Portnov's negative attitude towards the team, namely the fact that he had leaked the personal data of their driver, including his address and the license plates of the car that was subsequently set on fire, and on the eve of the arson, he publicly threatened to "teach a lesson" to the investigative journalism project.
Also in September 2024, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruled in favor of Andriy Portnov, who sued the "Chesno" Movement, demanding his profile be removed from the register of high traitors on the Movement's website.
DEFENDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 2
1. Lviv court convicts the man who commissioned Radio Liberty journalist car arson
17.12.2024 The Halytskyi District Court of Lviv has issued a verdict in the case against Vadym Dmytrenko, who commissioned the arson of the car belonging to Radio Liberty journalist Halyna Tereshchuk.
The ruling was passed on December 12, 2024, Radio Liberty reports.
The court sentenced Dmytrenko to six years in prison for willful destruction or damage to a journalist's property. He must also compensate about UAH 100 thousand in moral and material damages. The convict pleads not guilty.
The ruling can be appealed to the Lviv Court of Appeal within 30 days from the date of its announcement.
According to the investigation, on the night of January 30, 2020, Yakob Sarakhman, aged 19, a then student of Lviv Polytechnic University, set fire to the car of the Radio Liberty journalist. Proceedings were opened against him under Article 194 (willful destruction or damage to property) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. He pleaded guilty in court and named the people who ordered it.
Later, the Halytskyi District Court sentenced Sarakhman to five years in prison with a three-year probation period.
The victims in the case are the couple Halyna and Vasyl Tereshchuk. The investigation identified former police major of the Frankivsk district police department of Lviv, Mykhailo Cherdak (he is suspected of organizing the arson) and Vadym Dmytrenko (unemployed, previously convicted) as suspected perpetrators.
On January 30, 2020, a car belonging to Radio Liberty journalist Halyna Tereshchuk was set on fire in Lviv.
On May 25, 2020, the Halytskyi Court of Lviv sentenced a Khmelnytskyi resident aged 19, charged with setting the journalist’s car on fire, to five years in prison with a three-year probation period.
Two more people were involved in the arson case – Mykhailo Ch., Frankivsk district police major who was in hiding and wanted, and Vadym D., unemployed, previously convicted. Proceedings against the two were initiated under Article 347 (“Willful damage to a journalist’s property”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
On August 17, 2020, the SBU exposed a former Lviv National Police officer who, according to the investigation, organized the setting on fire of the Radio Liberty journalist’s car.
The detainee was notified of suspicion as part of criminal proceedings under Part 3 of Article 27 (complicity in a crime) and Part 2 of Article 347-1 (willful destruction or damage to a journalist’s property) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
On December 4, 2020, the SBU submitted an indictment against the man who commissioned and organized the arson to court.
An indictment against a total of two persons involved in the proceedings has been submitted to court. They are accused of organizing the arson attack on the journalist’s car in relation to her reporting. The charges were brought under Part 3 of Article 27, Part 2 of Article 347-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
2. Police opens case on obstruction faced by Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists
20.12.2024 Suspilne Zhytomyr journalist Kateryna Moroz, who faced obstruction while trying to film a hearing in the Korolyovskyi district court on December 18, filed a complaint with the police.
Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko reported this to Oksana Trokoz, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Zhytomyr oblast.
The journalists also released a news story capturing the conflict. The journalist and the camerawoman say: “This is our editorial assignment, we are doing our job,” “You are obstructing the work of journalists.”
To this, the women respond: “I don’t see how that's wrong,” “Thank us for not beating you up.”
Maryna Vitvitska, spokeswoman for the Zhytomyr District Police Department, told the IMI that the department had received a complaint from a journalist regarding obstruction of reporting on December 18.
“The complainant said that at about 11:45 in the Korolyovskyi District Court, unknown persons (according to preliminary information, relatives of the defendants) did not allow the filming crew to freely enter the courtroom where a high-profile case was being tried at the time. In view of this, they were unable to complete their editorial assignment,” said Vitvitska.
The police have initiated proceedings under Part 1 of Article 171 (“Obstruction of the legal professional work of journalists”) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
“The necessary procedural actions are underway to identify witnesses to the incident and persons involved in it,” said Maryna Vitvitska.
She also clarified that intentional obstruction of a journalist's lawful professional work is punishable by a fine of up to 50 tax-free minimum incomes, a probationary supervision for up to three years, or restriction of liberty for the same term.
Tetyana Hosha, spokeswoman for the Zhytomyr oblast prosecutor's office, reported in a comment to the IMI representative that Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko called the Zhytomyr oblast prosecutor's hotline and reported the incident on December 18.
"The TV channel's manager reported that on December 18, 2024, in the Korolyovskyi district court of Zhytomyr, a group of people prevented journalists filming a news story from entering the courtroom where a high-profile case was being tried and treated them aggressively. With these actions, the unidentified persons obstructed the legal professional work of journalists who were performing an editorial assignment," she said.
Tetyana Hosha added that proceedings for obstruction of legal reporting (Part 1, Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) have been registered. “A pre-trial investigation is underway, the details of the obstruction of the TV crew are being established,” she said.
On December 18, a hearing in the high-profile case of the so-called Korostyshiv racketeers took place in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr. Before the hearing began, relatives of the defendants blocked the Suspilne Zhytomyr filming crew from entering the courtroom. During the conflict, the journalist was pushed and grabbed by the arms, which prevented her from working.
Response by the journalist community – 4
02.12.2024 The Media Movement, as well as Ukraine's media and human rights NGOs call on the Verkhovna Rada deputies to not support the draft bill No. 10242 in its current version. This draft bill poses significant threats to freedom of speech, the work of journalists, and the protection of journalists' sources and whistleblowers in Ukraine, says their joint address.
You can join in signing the address here.
The draft bill expands and introduces criminal liability (8 years in prison) for publicly disclosing confidential data from public registers during martial law. At the same time, the draft bill provides no protection mechanisms for those who report on confidential data of public interest.
The authors of the address believe that the draft bill creates a tool that may be exploited to persecute journalists. Namely, it enables wiretapping and surveillance of journalists by the government.
“Under the guise of combating ‘data abuse,’ a tool is being created that may be exploited to persecute journalists reporting on corruption schemes or abuse of office. Examples of investigations whose authors may be prosecuted under the provisions of this draft bill include reporting on the schemes for men to illegally leave abroad during martial law or on the dubious wealth of prosecutors,” the address says.
The authors of the statement call on international organizations and human rights activists to join the assessment of this bill and speak out about its impact on freedom of speech in Ukraine.
16.12.2024 Multiple civil society organizations and media professionals are calling on the Verkhovna Rada to make parliamentary committee meetings open to journalists and the public and to adopt draft bill No. 11321 by the end of the year, according to a joint address signed by the Institute of Mass Information, among others.
The address argues that currently there are no security risks that could be in the way of increasing transparency of the Verkhovna Rada committee meetings.
“After all, most committee meetings take place online these days. And the vast majority of committees already provide online livestreams of their meetings. Moreover, during the full-scale invasion, there have been cases of journalists taking part in public committee meetings. In none of the cases the meetings being public led to security risks,” the address says.
3. Media workers, human rights advocates call on the Verkhovna Rada to drop draft bill No. 10242
17.12.2024 We, the members of Media Movement, as well as media and human rights NGOs of Ukraine, repeat our call to Ukraine's deputies to drop their support for draft bill No. 10242 in its current version. This draft bill continues to pose significant threats to freedom of speech, the work of journalists, the protection of journalists' sources and corruption whistleblowers in Ukraine.
Its updated version proposed for voting did not eliminate the risks that we emphasized in the previous statement released on December 2, 2024. The draft bill expands criminal liability for unauthorized dissemination of confidential information. By this, the legislator means posting confidential information from public registers in open access or other actions that may grant unspecified persons free access to such information. This definition is contained in the note to Article 361 of the Criminal Code, and it has not undergone any changes compared to the text that was put to the vote two weeks ago.
The draft bill proposed for voting does not take into account the criticism regarding the need to introduce effective protection mechanisms for persons who disclose confidential information in the interests of the public, in particular journalists and whistleblowers. As we have already noted in our previous statement, the current Laws of Ukraine "On Information" and "On Access to Public Information", aimed at protecting it, may not be enough to protect journalists in court in case the updated version of Article 361-2 of the Criminal Code is applied even if there is a public necessity to disclose such information.
Despite the proposed penalty being reduced, up to five years of imprisonment for similar actions under martial law remains a disproportionate punishment. Even though such a maximum penalty and the crime no longer being categorized as a grave offense prevent the use of covert investigative actions against journalists such as wiretapping and surveillance, this tool can still be abused to persecute journalists for investigations that are inconvenient for officials.
That is why the provisions of draft bill No. 10242 in its updated version continue to contradict the principles of freedom of speech, protection of journalists' sources and whistleblowers, enshrined in international documents, including the recently adopted European Media Freedom Act.
Introducing criminal liability for disclosing confidential information from registers should be accompanied by the creation of reliable protection mechanisms for journalists and corruption whistleblowers.
We call on the deputies to drop draft bill No. 10242, and on the representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Law Enforcement to engage in a genuine dialogue with the media community in order to improve the system of criminal legislation in this area. Any new provisions introduced by such bills should truly protect the state from the risks associated with data trafficking and mass information leaks, and not limit the possibilities of public control over the authorities and contribute to the creation of a fearful enfironment among journalists.
26.12.2024 The Media Movement, media and civil society organizations call on the President of Ukraine to submit proposals for the National Security and Defense Council to consider introducing sanctions against Andriy Portnov, former deputy head of the Viktor Yanukovych administration, as per their joint address.
The authors are concerned by Ukrainian courts repeatedly granting Portnov’s claims against the media and civil society organizations. “This is happening despite the considerable reasons to view his activities critically,” the address says.
The authors also ask the Supreme Court and the High Council of Justice to review the rulings in these cases for compliance with the standards of justice and judicial ethics.
“Any possible influence on the judiciary, abuse or violation of the standards of justice must be investigated, assessed accordingly and curbed immediately,” the address says.
Moreover, the initiators remark that the US has imposed sanctions on Portnov due to his involvement in corruption aimed at controlling the Ukrainian judiciary.
Yet, Ukraine has not yet imposed any sanctions on Portnov, says the address, despite the numerous journalistic investigations suggesting his continued influence over the Ukrainian judiciary.
Yaroslava Volvach, senior investigator at Hromadske and a Media Movement representative, has already submitted a petition in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, calling on the NSDC to introduce sanctions against Andriy Portnov.
In September 2024, the Kyiv Court of Appeal dismissed the complaint filed by Natalia Sedletska, the director of Radio Liberty's Kyiv bureau and of the "Skhemy" project, in the defamation lawsuit by Andriy Portnov, an ex-deputy and former Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration. The Court upheld the ruling by the Pechersk District Court, who judged in Portnov's favor.
Portnov sued Sedletska and multiple other media outlets in the fall of 2020 over her Facebook post dated August 17, 2020 – the day a "Skhemy" corporate car was set on fire. In the post, Sedletska mentioned Portnov's negative attitude towards the team, namely the fact that he had leaked the personal data of their driver, including his address and the license plates of the car that was subsequently set on fire, and on the eve of the arson, he publicly threatened to "teach a lesson" to the investigative journalism project.
Also in September 2024, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv ruled in favor of Andriy Portnov, who sued the "Chesno" Movement, demanding his profile be removed from the register of high traitors on the Movement's website.
On December 9, 2024, the Kyiv Court of Appeal upheld the ruling by the Pechersk District Court and ordered Hromadske to take down the investigation “How they robbed us of Crimea: exclusive records” into Andriy Portnov, the former deputy head of Viktor Yanukovych's administration. The team says they disagree with the verdict and will appeal to the Supreme Court.
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