Ukrainian news outlet says it faces 'pressure' from Zelenskyy's office

WASHINGTON — 

A salient Ukrainian quality outlet reported Wednesday it is facing “ongoing and systematic pressure” from the bureau of the Ukrainian president that is threatening the outlet’s work.

In a connection connected its website, the online paper Ukrainska Pravda said officials are being blocked from communicating with the outlet’s journalists, its reporters are being denied entree to authoritative events and businesses are being pressured to halt advertizing connected its website.

In the statement, the outlet besides highlighted a tense speech betwixt Ukrainska Pravda writer Roman Kravets and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a caller property conference. During the interaction, Zelenskyy questioned the outlet’s editorial independence.

Ukrainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva told VOA it was important for the outlet to beryllium honorable with readers astir the unit it faces from the government.

“Ukraine is warring for the close to beryllium but besides for the close to beryllium democratic, autarkic and transparent,” Musayeva said from Kyiv.

“And state of property and state of code is 1 of [the] indispensable values of democracy. That’s wherefore we volition support this worth arsenic overmuch arsenic we can,” Musayeva continued.

Ukrainska Pravda said it views the government’s actions arsenic attempts to power the outlet’s editorial policy.

The outlet has been facing this benignant of unit for astir 1 year, but it has go adjacent worse implicit the past 2 months, according to Musayeva. From present on, Ukrainska Pravda said, it volition marque nationalist immoderate attempts by the president’s bureau to unit the outlet, according to the statement.

“Each specified effort lone strengthens our information to exposure corruption and mismanagement successful the highest ranks of power,” the connection said. “We telephone connected everyone who values state of code and the independency of Ukrainian journalism to articulation america successful defending these values.”

Media watchdogs — and Ukrainian journalists — person expressed interest astir the authorities of property state successful Ukraine successful caller months amid Russia’s warfare connected the country.

In June, Reporters Without Borders, oregon RSF, said property state was “shrinking” successful Ukraine, with challenges that see rising governmental pressure, surveillance and threats.

“The pressure, threats and interference indispensable stop,” Jeanne Cavelier, caput of RSF’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, said successful the June statement. “Despite their admirable resilience aft Russia launched its afloat standard penetration connected 24 February 2022, the Ukrainian media scenery remains fragile.”

The Ukrainian president’s office, the Foreign Ministry and Ukraine’s Washington embassy did not instantly reply to VOA emails requesting remark for this story.

Musayeva told VOA she believes the unit is successful effect to captious sum Ukrainska Pravda has produced astir the Ukrainian government, including connected misconduct and corruption.

Ever since Russia invaded Ukraine successful 2022, Musayeva said, determination has been a consciousness of little tolerance for quality stories captious of the government. Still, the outlet volition proceed to screen each aspects of government, bully oregon bad, she said.

“We proceed our captious sum connected immoderate atrocious governance,” she said. “We inactive spot that corruption didn’t disappear.”

Musayeva said she recognizes the value for the media to screen affirmative stories astir Ukraine.

“But astatine the aforesaid time, the relation of autarkic media successful antiauthoritarian countries is to supply accusation for the radical and truthful accusation for the radical astir the existent situation,” she said.