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Ukrainska pravda complains about “systematic pressure” from Zelensky’s office

In a statement published on its website, Ukrainska pravda said that “officials were ordered not to communicate with the newspaper’s journalists, they were denied access to official events, and companies were pressured to stop advertising on the newspaper’s website and not to sponsor its events.”

The statement also made reference to the “excited communication” at the August press conference between Ukrainská pravda journalist Roman Kravec and the president, during which the president questioned the paper’s editorial independence. At the same time, allusions to “dark men” and “strange manners” were made.

“These and other non-public signals indicate attempts to influence our editorial policy,” the statement reads. “From now on, all attempts by the president’s office to pressure Ukrainian truth will be published,” it is further stated, adding that “each such attempt only strengthens the paper’s motivation to expose corruption and inefficient management at higher levels of power.”

The Kyiv Independent contacted the president’s office for comment. He had not received them until Wednesday’s publication of the article about the statement by Ukrainska pravda.

According to the website, Ukrainian independent media have made great progress since Euromaidan in 2014, but since the beginning of the Russian invasion, there have been concerns about various pressures.

Reporters Without Borders, according to the Kyiv Independent, suggested in June that press freedom in Ukraine was diminishing, highlighting an “alarming decline” in support and respect for media autonomy and increased pressure from the state or other political actors in Ukraine.