The Zhytomyr oblast police received five statements related to potential violations of journalists’ rights in 2025. However, none of them became grounds for proceedings, as per the reply by the Zhytomyr Oblast National Police HQ to a journalist query from the Institute of Mass Information’s regional representative Oksana Trokoz.
The police said they had received three statements on potential obstruction of legal reporting and two on threats to journalists, news outlets, or media representatives on 1 January – 21 December 2025.
The police added that, according to the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, the law enforcement bodies in Zhytomyr oblast initiated no criminal law probes under journalism-related articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (CCU) on 1 January to 21 December 2025.
Neither did the police record any mass attacks or systematic attacks on news outlets or journalists online in Zhytomyr oblast in 2025. In particular, there were no cases of similar emails containing death threats or signs suggesting they were part of a disinformation campaign.
The data correlates with the information provided by the Zhytomyr oblast prosecutor’s office. In response to a query from IMI, representatives of the prosecutor’s office reported that no offenses under the CCU articles relating to obstruction of legal reporting (Article 171), threats or violence against journalists (Article 345-1), intentional destruction or damage to a journalist’s property (Article 347-1), attempted assassination of a journalist (Article 348-1), or taking a journalist hostage (Article 349-1) were recorded or closed in the oblast from January through November 2025.
Earlier, the Institute of Mass Information reported that the police had closed the probe into obstruction of legal reporting by Suspilne Zhytomyr journalists, which had been opened following an incident in the Korolyovskyi District Court of Zhytomyr City in December 2024.
Suspilne Zhytomyr chief editor Dmytro Klymenko said that his team had learned about the case’s closure from IMI and planned to appeal this decision, emphasising the need for real protection of journalists’ rights and the safety of reporting.