The news website Oboz.ua faced pressure and threats following a news story about potential fundraiser fraud. Chief editor Lesia Hasych and journalist Olha Haniukova have filed a statement with the police, Hasych reported to IMI journalist Valentyna Troyan.
Hasych said that the pressure was linked to a piece released on 26 September 2025, titled “Big Fraudulent Fundraising Campaign for a ‘UAF Servicewoman’ Exposed in Ukraine: Who Is Iryna Hotun and Why the Scandal is Escalating”. The publication cited information from Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel Anatoliy Shtefan, comments by other servicemembers and volunteers, and reports by other news outlets concerning violations likely committed in the course of the fundraising campaign in support of Hotun.
As Hasych recounted, a man introducing himself as Serhiy Yaniuk (call sign “Latvian”), a veteran of the Russo–Ukrainian war, started calling Olha Haniukova, the author of the news story, from a Latvian phone number on 8 August 2026. He also sent her video messages demanding that the article be taken down.
Hasych said he later switched his attention to her and her family, threatening to “ruin their lives” and to “play at war” with them. Yaniuk also filed a complaint with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), accusing her of committing a criminal offence. However, the journalist added, the SBU refused to enter the case into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, citing the lack of a corpus delicti.
“I warned the senior editor and everyone else he might call about his intimidation campaign. I also filed a statement with the police and the SBU. I told him that we were willing to publish a comment and issue a correction if he shared any evidence, and asked him to email it to the editorial inbox. He replied that he’d send it right away, and a minute later a complaint against me, with the subject line ‘Lesia Hasych is an FSB agent’, arrived in our inbox; it claimed that I had committed a criminal offence by writing the news piece. The SBU refused to enter his complaint into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations, citing the absence of a corpus delicti,” Lesia Hasych explained.
Hasych added that she had no theories as to why the threats had started coming in now, a year after the news article was released.
News story temporarily taken down
Hasych said that the dubious fundraising campaign had been first reported by UAF colonel Anatoliy Shtefan. He later deleted his post. According to the team, he faced pressure and takedown demands as well.
Yaniuk later contacted Oboz.ua‘s senior editor, Orest Sokhar. The team agreed to temporarily take the article down in order to carry out additional fact-checking, and sent inquiries about Iryna Hotun’s work to the relevant authorities.
However, Hasych said, the pressure did not stop after that. Yaniuk posted a video on Facebook calling on fellow servicemembers to “attack the team,” and on 16 August summoned a police patrol to the news outlet’s office in Kyiv after filing a complaint.
On 10 August 2026, Lesia Hasych filed a statement with the police over obstruction of lawful reporting and death threats. She said that the statement had been registered.
During further checks, journalists found that in the autumn of 2025, Dim TV had also privated an episode of its programme featuring Iryna Hotun over reports concerning the questionable nature of her activities and fundraising campaigns. Available information suggests that Hotun had previously served in the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO) and holds veteran status, but was discharged from military service on health grounds. The bank card used for her fundraising campaign has since been blocked.
