The Rivne-based outlet Chetverta Vlada reported that their chief editor Volodymyr Torbich had received death threats following the release of a news piece on criminal law proceedings involving the children of Liana Dynovska, director of the Rivne Social Services Centre.
According to the organisation, two voice messages from Oleksandr Dynovskyi, the official’s ex-husband and the father of her children, were sent to Chetverta Vlada‘s Facebook page on 29 September. In the messages, the man demanded that his children not be mentioned in the outlet’s reporting and threatened to murder Volodymyr Torbich.
In the first voice message, as quoted by Chetverta Vlada, Oleksandr Dynovskyi addressed Volodymyr Torbich and said:
“Hey, Volodya?! It’s Dynovskyi. What the f***, you’ve got nothing better to do? If you touch my f***ing kids one more time, I’ll come to Rivne and cut your f***ing head off. You have my f***ing word. What, are you a scumbag or something?!”
In the second message, he again demanded that his children not be mentioned in the news:
“Torbich, you’re a sick man. See that you don’t touch my kids. Don’t touch my kids, because… well, it’s not decent. Have you got no one to write about, f***ing nothing to write about? Write about the office, you… f***ing dumb***. Don’t touch my kids!”
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The newsroom regards these messages as threats to Volodymyr Torbich in connection with his reporting.
Chetverta Vlada has also reported on criminal law proceedings involving Oleksandr Dynovskyi. According to Rivne City Court data, the man fired ten shots in the direction of police officers in 2025. 34 more live rounds, which he had been storing illegally after finding them in Sumy oblast, were found in his possession. He pleaded guilty. The court sentenced him to three years in prison, but released him from serving the sentence with a two-year probation period and stripped him of the rank of senior soldier.
Moreover, the outlet writes, the court register contains a ruling by the Derazhnia District Court of Khmelnytskyi oblast, dated 17 March 2026, concerning Oleksandr Dynovskyi being absent from his army unit without leave under martial law.
Volodymyr Torbich said he took the threats seriously and believed they were linked to his reporting.
“Since Dynovskyi has threatened other people’s lives before and has even fired shots in their direction, and the court case was put on hold because of his military service, I regard his threats as a crime against me in connection with my professional work. Since he has access to weapons and has already gone AWOL, I view these threats as real. A lawyer has already prepared a report of the crime,” Torbich said.
He added that this was not the first time the team had faced pressure for their work, but it was the first instance of overt death threats that they have faced.
On 28 September 2026, Chetverta Vlada released a news story titled “Family Crimes: Rivne Defendants in a Drug Trafficking Case Await Ruling”. It reported on proceedings over illegal kratom trafficking involving Liana Dynovska’s children and children-in-law as the accused.
Volodymyr Torbich remarked that Chetverta Vlada would continue to cover this story.