Freedom of Speech Committee to review the Humeniuk address

Yaroslav Yurchyshyn. Photo by Yaroslav Yurchyshyn on Facebook

The Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech will review the media workers' address about the head of the Joint Coordination Center of the Southern Ukraine Defense Forces, Natalya Humeniuk, at their next meeting, announced the Committee chair Yaroslav Yurchyshyn on Facebook on April 18.

He said that over 150 media persons from Ukraine and abroad have written to the Committee demanding Humeniuk's dismissal.

"The media workers say that their work is being hindered in this area. The most egregious cases include insufficient coverage of the Russian sabotage at the Kakhovka HPP. This resulted in the global media looking for information about the destruction of the dam in the enemy's propaganda sources. It is also necessary to give more attention to our soldiers holding the frontline in the south and the residents of these oblasts, who suffer from Russian shelling every day," the deputy remarked.

Yurchyshyn noted that he fully agrees that the safety of the Ukrainian soldiers comes first, "however, it is us who should provide an opportunity to report on Russia's crimes and the heroic deeds of our defenders."

"If we don't talk about the war, the enemy will be telling the world about it. And the information they provide will definitely not be in our favor. A letter from over 150 media workers cannot go without a reaction from the authorities. We will review this issue at the next Committee meeting. I will suggest my colleagues to contact the General Staff," wrote the chair of the Freedom of Speech Committee.

What the address was about

On April 16, multiple media workers signed an address to the military command on Natalya Humeniuk's work.

The media workers said that Natalya Humeniuk was barring them from covering Russia's war crimes in the area she supervises. They demanded that the military command replace Natalya Humeniuk "with a more competent person and keep her out of communications management of any kind."

The journalists also demanded access to parts of the Kherson oblast.

The address was signed by the Ukrainian media association "Media Movement", as well as over 150 representatives of Ukrainian and foreign media outlets.

On April 17, the head of the Joint Coordination Center of the Southern Ukraine Defense Forces, Natalya Humeniuk, said that the facts in the media's address asking for her dismissal were listed without any proof.