Journalists could not attend briefing of president Zelensky relocated inside Presidential administration

On June 3rd, several Ukrainian and foreign journalists were found out not to be able to attend the first press briefing of the president Volodymyr Zelensky. Initially, the briefing was scheduled to be held outside the Presidential administration, but then it was relocated to inside. Journalist Liliya Rzheutska told it in its report for Deutsche Welle. The first press briefing was announced as an open-door meeting for all journalists wishing to attend it and had to be held just before the Presidential administration. No accreditation was required for journalists. Former president Leonid Kuchma participated at the press corner as well. However, before its beginning, the journalists were told that the briefing was going to move inside the building, the journalists had to pass through metal detectors and scanner system. At the entrance, there was a long queue of journalists. One hour passed and only half of the journalists could get in the presidential administration. And while many of journalists were standing outside in the queue, the president Zelensky began his briefing that lasted five minutes. He said that former president of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma, who represented Ukraine in Trilateral contact group in Minsk peaceful negotiations on Donbas until 2018, returned to Ukrainian. The journalists who attended the briefing could ask question nor to actual, neither to former president. Correspondent for DW Liliya Rzheutska could not enter the building. Journalists were outraged and disappointed, as she wrote. The Institute of Mass Media (IMI) are perplexed due to such an attitude towards the press.Executive director of IMI Oksana Romanyuk emphasized that the new President should be open to the public. "This means that he should meet the press on a regular basis, hold press conferences and report regularly to the public what are his actions in the highest public office, and not just to post some nice private videos in social networks. We would like transparency and accountability to become key principles for the new government, " Oksana Romanyuk told interviewed by DW. Iryna Pobedonostseva, who is responsible for the information policy at the Presidential administration, told that the Public guard department forbade the briefing outside the presidential office for security reasons at the last moment, so the first briefing of the President was found out to be like that. "I apologized to everyone. This is a technical organizational issue. We were scheduling to hold it outside, but the security service reshaped it, so such an unlucky fact happened. We will take it into account in the future, so this would not repeat, "Pobedonostseva said.