The editorial staff of Comments.ua say they have faced an orchestrated smear campaign targeting the media outlet and its owner Viktor Holdskyi over the past two weeks. The news outlet released a statement on the matter on 13 October.
The team said that several anonymous Telegram channels and resources were spreading false information about Holdsky, noting that the campaign was systematic and premeditated.
“This campaign began immediately after we shared the stories by RBC Ukraine covering the activities of IBOX BANK, LeoGaming, and Alyona Shevtsova. We consider this as an attempt to pressure and intimidate the news outlet and its owner in response to their professional reporting,” the team said.
The media outlet added that the attack consisted of “unfounded allegations about Viktor Holdskyi’s ties with former politicians from the Party of Regions era.”
“The team categorically denies such statements, views them as manipulation, and considers anonymous and false posts about the news outlet’s owner to be an attempt at pressure and interference in independent journalism,” the news outlet emphasized.
Comments.ua pointed out that they were not the only media outlet targeted in a mudslinging campaign, mentioning RBC Ukraine, which faced an organized smear campaign after reporting on the case against activist Nazariy Husakov, which feautred IBOX BANK and LeoGaming.
Comments.ua added that investigative journalist Lyubov Velychko has also said that Alyona Shevtsova’s lawyer attemoted to put psychological pressure on her to prevent her from reporting on the Kyiv Court of Appeal’s ruling to close the case regarding the legalization of UAH 5 billion.
The news outlet called on:
- the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech to create a Temporary Special Commission to consider the issue of pressure and smear campaigns against independent media in Ukraine;
- law enforcement bodies to investigate the organized smear campaign against the media;
- the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting and the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine to assess attempts at information pressure on the media;
- the journalist community to unite in order to defend the rights and freedoms of journalists in Ukraine;
- the public to be critical of anonymous sources of information such as Telegram channels and news websites not registered in accordance with the legal procedure, and to check their facts.
“Freedom of speech and independent journalism in Ukraine must be protected by the authorities, especially in times of war, when truthful information is critically important for society,” the Comments.ua team stressed.
Previously
The online news outlet RBC Ukraine faced a targeted pressure campaign and obstruction of legal reporting following their news story about the activist Nazariy Husakov in July 2025.
Journalist Lyubov Velychko said on 7 October 2025 that she had faced pressure from Ibox Bank lawyers after taking photos, audio and video recordings during a hearing in the case concerning the bank’s co-owner Alyona Shevtsova. She received demands not to publish the material.