Media Movement demands Humeniuk's dismissal from the new position, suspension from any media communications work
The Media Movement demands that Ukraine's political leadership and military command dismiss Natalya Humenyuk from her new position and suspend her from any positions involving communications or public interaction with mass media on behalf of Ukraine's Defense Forces.
This is stated in the Media Movement's address to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrsky, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umerov, and the chief of public relations of the UAF Ground Forces Command Volodymyr Fityo.
"Disregard for the opinion of the professional community and the public in matters of interaction between the military and the civilian press creates additional social tension. It also shows that the army's practices of arbitrarily hindering the work of journalists continue.
"A string of decision makers chose to keep Mrs. Humeniuk involved in military communications. Using their personal and internal connections, they consciously and deliberately decided to disgrace the opinion of the professional community, media audiences and citizens, calling into question the principles of democracy and freedom of speech for the sake of a misguided staffing decision," the address reads.
The Media Movement also demands that the political leadership and military command:
- Carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this dubious decision and bring to justice the persons who were involved in Natalya Humeniuk's reinstatement in a position related to the UAF's public communications. This decision was adopted despite active protest from the professional community and the public, who demanded that Natalya Humeniuk be dismissed for obstructing the work of journalists in her area of responsibility.
- Revise the current rules regulating the work of the press centers of the OC "South" and the newly created joint press center "Tavria" (formerly OSG "Odesa" and OSG "Tavria"), whose work could be harmed by Natalya Humeniuk's appointment, and publicly report the results of such revision to the public and the media community. The Media Movement has stated in April 2024 that such a revision was needed so as to avoid excessive and arbitrary control and restrictions that hinder reporting and documentation of events that are critically important for Ukraine.
Previously
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.
On April 19, 2024, Natalya Humeniuk was dismissed from her post as chief of strategic communications of the South Defense Forces and replaced by Dmytro Pletenchuk.
The full address by the Media Movement:
To the Supreme Commander-in-Chief,
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky
Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces
Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky
the Minister of Defense of Ukraine
Rustem Umerov
the chief public relations officer
of the UAF Ground Forces command
Volodymyr Fityo
Address
The news of Natalya Humeniuk's reinstatement in the public communications of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is not just alarming. It is shameful, as such a step insults not only the opinion of those who work in journalism and communications professionally, but also the interests of society, which is an active participant in this existential war and has an inalienable right to honest information about what is happening in its course. Independent mass media having timely and easy access (in compliance with the security regulations stipulated by the UAF General Staff's Decree No. 73) to reporting events in the combat area and covering the war crimes committed by the Russian Federation is an matter of public and international interest and contributes to the effective awareness of the society and international partners.
Disregard for the opinion of the professional community and the public in matters of interaction between the military and the civilian press creates additional social tension. It also shows that the army's practices of arbitrarily hindering the work of journalists continue.
A string of decision makers chose to keep Mrs. Humeniuk involved in military communications. Using their personal and internal connections, they consciously and deliberately decided to disgrace the opinion of the professional community, media audiences and citizens, calling into question the principles of democracy and freedom of speech for the sake of a misguided staffing decision. Their actions are based on the vain hope that there may be an expiration date to the Media Movement's the previous demands, which were signed by over 150 representatives of leading media outlets – both Ukrainian and international.
We, the members of the Media Movement, accept this Journalist's Day "gift" with dignity, as a manifestation of the true attitude on the part of the Defense Forces command and the civilians and officials involved in this decision towards the media and our readers.
We demand that the military command and political leadership responsible for adopting this shameful decision (the President's Office, the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, the UAF Ground Forces Command, the OC "South"):
- Immediately revoke this appointment and suspend Rank 1 Captain Nataliya Kostyantynivna Humeniuk from any positions involving communications or public interaction with mass media on behalf of Ukraine's Defense Forces.
- Carry out a thorough investigation into the circumstances of this dubious decision and bring to justice the persons who were involved in Natalya Humeniuk's reinstatement in a position related to the UAF's public communications. This decision was adopted despite active protest from the professional community and the public, who demanded that Natalya Humeniuk be dismissed for obstructing the work of journalists in her area of responsibility.
- Revise the current rules regulating the work of the press centers of the OC "South" and the newly created joint press center "Tavria" (formerly OSG "Odesa" and OSG "Tavria"), whose work could be harmed by Natalya Humeniuk's appointment, and publicly report the results of such revision to the public and the media community. The Media Movement has stated in April 2024 that such a revision was needed so as to avoid excessive and arbitrary control and restrictions that hinder reporting and documentation of events that are critically important for Ukraine.
For reference. The Media Movement is a community that has united journalists from leading Ukrainian media, investigative journalists and experts from independent media organizations. Media movement was launched on February 5, 2019.
The Media Movement Memorandum was first signed by Suspilne, Ukrainian Radio, Hromadske Radio, Ukrinform, Interfax-Ukraine, Liga.net, ZN.ua, NV, Censor.net, Ukrayinska Pravda, and many others leading Ukrainian media. The movement also includes leading Ukrainian media NGOs, such as the IMI, Detector Media, Independent Media Council, Internews Ukraine, National Media Association, Center for Democracy and the Rule of Law, Suspilnist Foundation, Donetsk Institute of Information, Pylyp Orlyk Institute of Democracy, Zmina Center for Human Rights.
Other organizations and journalsits joined later – over 70 members in total. On November 16, 2021, top media outlets called on journalists to unite within the professional community "Media Movement" to resist political and commercial pressure on freedom of speech. The statement was initiated by 29 journalists and experts whose names are available here.
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