Syla Hromad journalist and chief editor Oksana Pidnebesna was removed from the Primorskyi District Court of Odesa on 15 January 2026 during an open hearing in the case of a pro-Russian group. The removal was requested by the defense, which claimed in their motion that the journalist was a witness in the case, Oksana Pidnebesna reported in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information regional representative in Odesa oblast.
The journalist says that as the hearing opened, the attorney of the suspect Oleh Maltsev filed a motion claiming that a person listed by the defense as a witness was in the courtroom and mentioning her by name. Podnebesna denied this, explaining that she had nothing to do with the proceedings and had learned about the case exclusively from official reports by the prosecutor’s office and the SBU, whch was why she was in court as a journalist.
“I tried to deny this motion, because I know nothing about this case at all. The judge was having none of it: he refused to listen to me and suggested that I leave the courtroom,” the journalist said.
Podnebesna declared in court that she considered such actions to be obstruction of reporting and announced her intention to contact the police. After leaving the courtroom, she did so by phone. The police took down her explanation and personal data and promised to register the statement in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URDR).
The journalist is convinced that her removal from the courtroom was a deliberate attempt to prevent independent media coverage of a high-profile trial.
“I believe that the pro-Russian group of nine people who were detained by the police last year, specifically as they tried to flee from Ukraine, is trying to fight independent media. They found a technicality to remove me from the courtroom at any cost,” she stressed.
In September 2024, the Odesa police detained the leaders of a group calling themselves “the Templars” on suspicion of creating illegal armed formations and attempting to seize power. The detainees included Oleh Maltsev and his ally Kostyantyn Slobodyaniuk. The court ruled to arrest them without bail.
In 2015, Oleh Maltsev publicly threatened journalists with Channel 7 and Tretiy Tsifrovyi TV who released an investigation mentioning him, announcing a “hunt” for them.