The Institute of Mass Information experts recorded 8 freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in December 2025, all unrelated to Russia’s war on Ukraine, according to the IMI’s monthly monitoring study Freedom of Speech Barometer.
The death of two media workers turned UAF servicemen was reported in December:
- Vasyl Khomko, serviceman, ex-director for the travel show “Heads and Tails”. Killed in action while giving cover to his retreating group on 2 October 2025. Volunteered to join the army in March 2022. He first served in the Mountain Assault Brigade No. 128 for 2.5 years and then in the Special Operations Forces for almost a year.
- Kostyantyn Shtyfurak, serviceman, filmmaker, journalist. Enlisted the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the summer of 2022 and served as a commander of a UAV unit. Served in the “Hornets of Hell” unit of the Hetman Ivan Mazepa mechanized brigade No. 54. His death was reported on 16 December 2025.
A total of 123 media workers have been killed in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, with 15 dying while reporting.
Of the eight recorded instances of freedom of speech violations three were categorised as obstruction of reporting, two as cyber attacks, and one each as other types: access to information, indirect pressure, and legal pressure.
Obstruction of reporting
- Sudovyi Reporter chief editor Iryna Saliy received a WhatsApp message with a request to take down a news story about Kyiv judges for a monetary reward. The journalist views this as pressure and an attempt to influence the news outlet’s editorial policy.
- Dnipro.media reporters were not allowed to attend a plenary session in the Dnipro City Council’s session hall. They were seated on a glazed balcony instead of the session hall while journalsts with the municipal news outlet worked downstairs unhindered. Dnipro.media says the restriction of access has been systematic.
- MykVisti journalist Yulia Boychenko faced harrassment on social media following the release of her news story about Mykolaiv’s new water supply system, with users accusing her of “helping the enemy aim air strikes,” leaking her photo and contact data. The news outlet views this as intimidation and a smear attempt.
Access to information
- Four district administrations in Kyiv city did not respond to Slidstvo.Info’s queries regarding the state and accessibility of bomb shelters, claiming the information is “classified”. Lawyers stress that this data is public and vital for citizens’ safety.
Indirect pressure
- Kremenchuk mayor Vitaliy Maletskyi blamed journalists with the local channel Vizyt TV for the delays in the construction of a bomb shelter in a daycare. He accused the reporters of visiting the construction site to film a news story, saying that the construction crew refused to work because of this.
Cyber attacks
- Nashi Groshi website sustained a DDoS attack shortly after the release of an investigation that could harm the interests of the Heart Institute director Borys Todurov.
- Suspilne Kherson lost access to their Telegram channel, with someone taking over and posting content to the channel instead of the team.
Legal pressure
- A Poltavaoblenergo representative threatened to sue Darya Hustilina, chief editor with the news website Chutivskyi Kray, over her reporting and demanded a takedown of her post. The journalist refused.
Furthermore, IMI recorded one case in occupied Crimea, where Russian pressure on media workers continues. Russian security forces searched the home of journalist and political scientist Lenora Dyulber on 4 December 2025. She was taken to Simferopol and released after an interview. Durning the search, Russian operatives thoroughly inspected every room, looked through all the documents, study notes, and the journalist’s PhD thesis; they took photos of her notes and books, checked her phone, and confiscated her computer.
Lenora Dyulber hosts the popular talk show Merkez, co-authored a sociological study “Crimean Tatars amid the Political Environment Transformation”, and is a Crimean Tatar activist.
See the full list of freedom of speech violations recorded in Ukraine in December 2025 here.
The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) is a civil society organization specializing in the media, operating since 1996. IMI defends the rights of journalists, studies the media landscape and reports on media-related events, fights propaganda and disinformation, and provides media workers with safety equipment for trips to combat areas (since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014).
IMI carries out the only monitoring study of freedom of speech in Ukraine, keeps a list of transparent and responsible online media outlets, and tracks Russia’s media crimes in the war on Ukraine. IMI has representatives in 20 oblasts of Ukraine and runs a network of Media Hubs that provide journalists with unfailing support. IMI’s partners include Reporters Without Borders (RSF); the organization is also a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).
