Restrictions on press freedom in Ukraine: reality or exaggeration?
20 June 2024 16:16
ЕКСКЛЮЗИВ
Ukraine has faced new accusations of restricting press freedom, which has raised concerns both among the international community and within the country. Correspondents of The New York Times and The Guardian pointed to the growing pressure on the Ukrainian media by the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. However, Ukrainian experts commented to Komersant ukrainskyi 
Western media continue to express concern about the threat of restrictions on press freedom in Ukraine. The New York Times notes that Ukrainian journalists complain that the government of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s government is increasing restrictions and pressure on the media, which exceed the necessary measures in a time of war.
They cite recent examples of a Ukrainian reporter who reported that a state news agency was trying to ban interviews with opposition politicians, who received a draft notice the next day.
It also reported how the Ukrainian secret service spied on the staff of an investigative news outlet through peepholes in their hotel rooms.
NYT correspondents also read the instructions for Ukrinform journalists, which, according to the newspaper, blacklisted MPs, civil society activists and, in particular, some military veterans.
Last month, The Guardian also reported on attempts to intimidate Ukrainian journalists. British journalists interviewed Olha Rudenko, deputy editor of the English-language Ukrainian media outlet Kyiv Independent. According to her, “a clumsy campaign of intimidation of journalists began last autumn”, and many journalists have become targets of “undue interest” by the Security Service of Ukraine.
She stressed that Ukrainians are fighting to prevent Ukraine from becoming like Russia, where there is no freedom of speech, press freedom and other freedoms.
Earlier this year, the International Press Institute (IPI) noted that although the biggest threat to journalists in Ukraine is Russian aggression, Ukrainian journalists are increasingly facing obstacles created by local officials.
Today, the human rights organisation Reporters Without Borders announced that pressure on the media in Ukraine has increased.
“For several months in a row, pressure on independent media in Ukraine has been increasing. “Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Ukrainian authorities to implement the recommendations of its roadmap presented a year ago to protect independent journalism and the right to information in the country. Surveillance, threats of conscription, increased control by the authorities,”
– the report says.
It is noted that since the beginning of 2024, at least five journalists have been under surveillance or threatened because of their publications on corruption.
The organisation also stressed that the requirement to verify quotes from interviews with military representatives acts as a deterrent and limits real-time coverage of the war.
Jeanne Cavellier, Head of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia department, stressed that pressure, threats and interference must stop.
Secretary of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Freedom of Speech Serhiy Shvets in a comment to Kommersant Ukrainskyi
“I don’t see any such processes,”
– Shvets said in response to a question about restrictions on press freedom in Ukraine.
“The fact is that I closely follow the publications of the NY Times and other publications, and I must say that their assessments of what is happening in Ukraine do not seem to me to be respectable. I mean, I don’t see any fairness in their assessments of the processes that are taking place in Ukraine, in a country where there is a war,” he said,
– he said.
Shvets stressed that, in his opinion, the media situation in Ukraine is relatively optimal, especially given the ongoing war in the country.
“In a country at war, freedom of the press and freedom of speech cannot be okay for objective reasons. Secondly, given what is happening in our country, the situation with freedom of speech is optimal. In my opinion,”
– he emphasised.
However, Yaroslav Yurchyshyn, MP and member of the Committee on Freedom of Speech, in a comment to Kommersant Ukrainian
“I would say that the curtailment trends that are really present are presented as a fait accompli,”
– Yurchyshyn said.
He emphasised that criminal proceedings have been opened in all of these cases, which is an adequate response even for the European Union.
According to him, the journalists deliberately did not succumb to pressure and did not use “recommendations”, and the parliament and the committee on freedom of speech are constantly monitoring these cases.
Yurchyshyn also stressed the importance of distinguishing between real and false threats. He drew attention to an international rating from Reporters Without Borders, which records an improvement in the situation with freedom of speech in Ukraine, indicating that there is no systematic curtailment of press freedom.
“Are there threats to freedom of speech in Ukraine? Yes, definitely. Is there a curtailment of freedom of speech? No, and the international rating by Reporters Without Borders shows this,”
– he said.
The MP also expressed regret that foreign media, in particular The Times, publish superficial materials without fully analysing the situation and without taking into account the dubious origin of some sources.
“It’s a shame when superficial materials from foreign media, I mean The Times, are quoted without criticism. Without analysing that among the authors there are media representatives who received accreditation from the “DNR”, promoted “Sputnik” as a vaccine against Covid and were distinguished by other extravagant actions and statements,”
– he gave examples.
According to the MP, strengthening journalistic self-government and mutual support of the media community can protect and develop the level of freedom of speech in Ukraine.
“Strengthening journalistic self-government and mutual support of the media community can definitely adequately protect the level of freedom of speech that we have and develop it further. We have no alternative – we are not welcome in the Western world without guarantees of protection of journalists’ rights. That is why we record negative cases, respond promptly to them and prove to the whole world that freedom of speech in Ukraine is protected and developing,”
– Yurchyshyn concluded.
