Freedom of Speech Barometer for July 2025
The Institute of Mass Information experts recorded 10 freedom of speech violations in Ukraine in July 2025, according to the IMI’s monthly monitoring study “Freedom of Speech Barometer”. All incidents were unrelated to Russia’s war on Ukraine and were committed by citizens of Ukraine.
It was reported in July that a Chernihiv journalist turned serviceman who had been considered missing in action for months had died:
- Bohdan Zayats, journalist with the communal TV channel Novyi Chernihiv and UAF serviceman. Died in a Russian shelling strike on Ukrainian army positions in Donetsk oblast on January 30, 2025. The media worker was drafted in September 2023 as deputy head of the TV channel’s news team.
Of the 10 freedom of speech violations, 3 were categorized as denial of access to information and 3 as online pressure, other categories (one case each) included obstruction of reporting, unlawful detention, censorship, and legal pressure.
These ten cases are representative of the entire range of threats to freedom of speech in Ukraine: from censorship and detention to legal and digital persecution. They show how the state, businesses, and law enforcement structures can (directly or by proxy) influence independent journalism. The problem is exacerbated by journalist protection mechanisms being weak and the government failing to respond appropriately.
The online media outlet RBC Ukraine faced obstruction and a smear attempt following their news story about activist Nazariy Husakov’s schemes for withdrawing money through gambling companies. Anonymous Telegram channels and disreputable news websites started publishing false information about the media outlet, alleging that the team was affiliated with the persons mentioned in the news story. The team filed an obstruction statement with the police.
Unlawful detention of a Hromadske journalist in Kyiv
Hromadske journalist Maksym Kotsiubynskyi was detained by Kyiv police after filming evidence of Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna using an apartment not mentioned in her declaration. The police kept him in custody for several hours with no detention report being drawn up, searched him, and attempted to access his phone. The journalist’s lawyer stressed that the police had no legal grounds to detain Kotsiubynskyi and were in violation of the law on the protection of reporters.
Censorship attempt in Kropyvnytskyi
Anastasia Dzyubak, chief editor of the online news outlet Hrechka, said that a Kirovohradska Oblast Military Administration official attempted to pressure the media outlet into removing the names of the recipients from their news story reporting on the ceremony awarding the veterans housing certificates. All the contested information was public and had been announced during the ceremony. IMI lawyers confirmed that the information was open access and the official’s demand was unfounded censorship.
Denial of access to information:
- Ternopil City Council restricts access to the city’s master plan
The 20 Khvylyn team was only able to review the city’s master plan after complaining to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, but the City Council barred the journalists from taking photos of it with no legal grounds for such a ban. A journalist called the police and filed a statement on restriction of access to public information. - Kyiv Pechersk Lavra withholds information
The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra refused to provide information on their news spokesperson to Detector Media, claiming it was “not public information” despite the institution receiving funding from the state budget. - Kamyanets-Podilsk City Council only answers a query after a complaint
ZHAR.INFO journalist Maria Turchyna only received an answer to her query regarding the City Council deputies’ business trips abroad after an intervention by the Human Rights Commissioner. The City Council attempted to dodge the question by demanding the journalist verify her identity, which is illegal. The media outlet is contesting the officials’ actions as a violation of their right to access information.
Three journalists faced online pressure over their reporting:
ZN.ua journalist Inna Vedernikova said she and her family were targeted in a commissioned smear campaign by anonymous Telegram channels. The suspects state officials displeased with the media outlet’s critical reporting to be involved. The campaign included over 30 derogatory mentions of the journalist over the course of several days.
Khmelnytskyi journalists Kateryna Vovk (Linza) and Alyona Bereza (ZHAR.INFO) were targeted in an SMS bombing attack after reporting on the protests in Khmelnytskyi in support of NABU and SAPO. Kateryna Vovk faced a mass SMS attack and an attempt to access her Telegram profile. The attack lasted 5 hours and targeted the phone number she had shared while talking with the police earlier, which points to a possible link between her reporting and the pressure.
Alyona Bereza faced a similar digital attack following her Facebook post on unlawful construction and her reporting on NABU independence protests. She received a flood of messages and Viber texts with password change or sign-in codes from various websites over the course of several hours. She believes the attack had to do with her reporting.
Legal pressure on the Cherkasy-based media outlet 18000
The media outlet’s journalist Iryna Maliukova was summoned for questioning by the police over an investigation into a local judge that was released a year ago. The judge filed a complaint with the police, who opened a case on “interference with the work of a judge.” The team considers this a form of persecution and pressure against the journalists for exposing corruption.
Read the full monitoring study below:
THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SITUATION IN UKRAINE FOR WHICH UKRAINIAN CITIZENS ARE RESPONSIBLE
PHYSICAL AGGRESSION
Obstruction of legal reporting — 1
1. RBC Ukraine reports pressure, smear attempts over reporting on Husakov case
17.07.2025 Online media outlet RBC Ukraine is being targeted in a campaign of pressure and obstruction of legal reporting due to their news story about activist Nazariy Husakov, the media outlet reported on July 17.
The news outlet says they have been observing an organized campaign to discredit the organization and its management, which is becoming systematic. “In recent days, several anonymous Telegram channels and disreputable websites have been spreading false information about Yosyp Pintus, the CEO majority owner of RBC Ukraine. The campaign started immediately following RBC Ukraine’s coverage of the activities of Nazariy Husakov and the schemes related to his withdrawal of funds through multiple gambling companies,” the media outlet's statement says.
The news story in question was released on July 15, 2025, under the headline “Activist Husakov received money through 'bank drops' and withdrew it through casinos, sources say”.
The team believes that these actions are retaliation for their journalism and are meant to intimidate them.
“In response to the news story, which was based on credible documents and data from law enforcement agencies, gambling businesses launched an attack in which RBC Ukraine's ties with the persons featured in the story are unfoundedly alleged.
"In particular, the companies IBOX BANK and LeoGaming are involved in a disinformation campaign alleging our team was whitewashing Husakov’s reputation, which is not at all true of RBC Ukraine's work,” the statement says.
The media outlet considers these statements regarding the RBC Ukraine CEO, promoted by gambling businesses as well as anonymous news publishers, an attempt to exert pressure and interfere with independent journalism.
RBC Ukraine is filing a complaint with the National Police regarding obstruction of their professional reporting and discrediting the media outlet.
“We call on government officials, the journalist community, and the public to pay due attention to these attempts at media pressure,” the statement says.
The team also reminded the readers of their earlier coverage of Nazariy Husakov's bank accounts receiving many transfers for the same amounts from dozens of persons with foreign names, which points to a "bank drop" scheme.
The editorial staff also reported that the National Police had opened two cases for fraud and money laundering following a scandal involving Lviv resident Nazariy Husakov.
Unlawful detention — 1
1. Hromadske journalist detained for hours by Kyiv police
03.07.2025 Hromadske journalist Maksym Kotsiubynskyi was detained by Kyiv police on July 1 and held in custody for several hours after filming evidence of Justice Minister Olha Stefanishyna using an apartment not mentioned in her declaration, Hromadske reports.
He was taken to the police station a few hours after the filming, when the journalist had finished working and was waiting to meet his friend.
Kotsiubynskyi was released from the station a few hours later with no detention report having been drawn up.
Maksym says he was firsed approached by a policeman who asked him for his ID, claiming he were “surveying citizens”. Later, another policeman joined them, saying that he needed to do a “superficial search”. After the “superficial search”, several more policemen arrived.
“When I asked why they were doing this during a 'citizen survey,' the police officers replied that someone had told them that I was filming strategic objects, which I was not,” Maksym said.
The journalist immediately showed the police his ID and said that earlier that day he had been filming the movements of a public official. Still, he was asked to go to the police station at 12-B Prorizna St., where he had to explain himself again.
“At the station, I was asked for written consent to examine my phone. I refused and waited for a lawyer. With the supervisor officer absent, the policemen told me that they could take my phone away for a long time. I asked if this was a threat and I was told that it was a notification,” the journalist said.
According to the media outlet, the patrol police officers restricted the journalist's movements and were constantly with him despite their claims that the journalist had not been detained.
After the lawyer arrived, Maksym Kotsiubynskyi provided his explanations again and was finally released.
The patrol police said they had received a report of a suspicious person, but did not show the report to the Hromadske journalist. The law enforcers did not specify who the report came from, what “suspicious actions” were allegedly committed, and where they were supposed to have taken place. The journalist did not film anything else on that day.
The Kyiv Patrol Police explained that their decision to check the journalist was prompted by request from a passerby who saw Maksym taking pictures of the house and the cars parked nearby. According to the police, Maksym refused to show his documents for inspection.
In turn, lawyer Anastasia Burkovska said that the journalist’s official reporting cannot be grounds for his arrest, detention, or confiscation of the material he collected, processed, and prepared or the equipment used by him. This is stated in Article 17 of the Law of Ukraine “On State Support for the Media, Guarantees of Professional Activity and Social Protection of Journalists”.
“So [the policemen] should have stopped at checking the journalist’s ID. But in my opinion, there were no sufficient grounds for a superficial check. After all, according to the Law of Ukraine 'On the National Police', a police officer may stop a person for a superficial check and/or search them if there are sufficient grounds to believe that the person is carrying an prohibited or restricted item or an item that poses a threat to the life or health of such a person or others,” Burkovska explained.
Hromadske journalists asked Olha Stefanishyna’s team whether the journalist being taken to the police station could be related to the filming of her car earlier that day. They were told that they had not contacted the police.
Maksym Kotsiubynskyi was wokring on an investigation which confirmed that the Minister of Justice Olha Stefanishyna uses an apartment owned by her mother, Nadiya Kravets. There is no mention of this apartment in the official’s declaration.
On the morning of July 1, Hromadske recorded the car in which the Minister is traveling, driving out of the residential complex Lvivska Ploshcha. This car is on the Cabinet of Ministers balance sheet.
Olha Stefanishyna confirmed in a comment to Hromadske that she was temporarily using her parents’ apartment and said that the right of use would be reflected in the declaration for the relevant reporting period.
CENSORSHIP, TOPIC GUIDELINES, ACCESS TO INFORMATION
Censorship – 1
1. Kropyvnytskyi-based news outlet Hrechka says OMA official tried to censor them
21.07.2025 Anastasia Dzyubak, chief editor of the Kropyvnytskyi-based online news outlet Hrechka, says that the Department of Veterans Affairs of the Kirovohradska Oblast Military Administration (OMA) attempted to censor the media outlet's July 17 news story “Kropyvnytskyi veterans and children of fallen soldiers receive cash certificates for housing”.
Anastasia Dzyubak reported this to Pavlo Lisnychenko, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Kirovohradska oblast.
The journalist says she was asked by Natalia Sivova, head of the Veterans Affairs Department, to correct the released material.
According to Anastasia Dzyubak, on July 17, Kropyvnytskyi authorities awarded cash certificates for housing to war veterans and families of fallen soldiers. Having attended the event, which was open to reporters, the journalists published an overview article, which included the full names and brief biographies of the veterans who had received the certificates. All of this information was announced at the event.
The official contacted Anastasia Dzyubak the next day, July 18, demanding that she remove information about the certificate recipients from the news story, saying that “such article is unacceptable.” When asked to clarify what exactly the official considered unacceptable, she sent Anastasia Dzyubak a link to the Law of Ukraine “On the Protection of Personal Data” in a text messenger.
Hrechka considers such actions as an attempt at selective pressure and censorship, since the OMA had no objections to other media outlets publishing similar lists.
Having assessed the OMA official's arguments, IMI lawyer Volodymyr Zelenchuk pointed out that in this case, paragraph two of part 3 of Article 5 of the Law “On the Protection of Personal Data” applies.
“Since these certificates are essentially a form of issuing budget funds to individuals, such information cannot be restricted in access and, accordingly, in further disclosure,” the lawyer summarized.
The Hrechka team plans to officially appeal to the Kirovohradska OMA with a request to address the situation in order to prevent similar interference in the work of the media in the future.
Access to information for journalists – 3
09.07.2025 The Ternopil-based news outlet 20 Khvylyn was only able to use the city’s master plan for their work after complaining about the access denial to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. Meanwhile, a journalist present in the City Council building called the police after being barred from taking photos of the master plan, with the Council staff failing to cite any documents justifying the ban, 20 Khvylyn reports.
The news story says that the journalists had previously contacted the Ternopil Oblast Military Administration (OMA) asking for copies of documents which say that master plans can not be posted on local authorities’ websites or photographed by people accessing them.
“Namely, they said that they did not have any documents prohibiting photo and video recording. Deputy Chair of the OMA, Taras Pastukh, replied that the Oblast Military Administration had no information about any documents the could serve as grounds to ban photographing and video recording the master plans of municipalities by people reviewing them in the premises of a local government body,” reads the news story by journalist Yana Polukhina.
As the media worker says, she was given three hours to process the documents, even though the City Council could not explain why she was forbidden from photographing the master plan, so the journalist called the police and filed a statement about denial of access to public information.
“I was given three hours to review the urban planning documentation. You just look at the document, write down the data, make notes on the colors of various plots so that you can reproduce them later. After the master plans we unfolded the zoning plan, and there was very little time left for it. So the review was short. We spent most of the time on writing,” said Yana Polukhina.
2. Kyiv Pechersk Lavra refuses to name new spokesperson, saying the information is not public
09.07.2025 The National Reserve Kyiv Pechersk Lavra claims the name of their new press secretary is “not public information”, reports Detector Media, citing the Reserve’s response to a July 2 query.
The media outlet was asking about the reason for the dismissal of the former press secretary Olesya Kramarenko and about the person set to replace her. On July 9, Lavra representatives wrote back, saying that the requested data “is not considered public information”.
They said that as per Part 1 of Article 13 of the Law “On Access to Public Information”, information administrators for the purposes of this law are recognized, in particular, “legal entities that receive funding from the state, local budgets, or the budget of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea” are only considered information administrators when it comes to information related to budget spending.
“The Reserve, in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Part 1 of Article 13 of the Law, is a legal entity funded from the state budget, and therefore is only authorized to disclose information regarding the use of budget funds and, within the meaning of the Law, is not the administrator of the requested information. Accordingly, within the meaning of the Law, the requested information is not considered public,” the Reserve’s reply reads. As the media outlet notes, it was reported on July 2 that the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra press secretary, Olesya Kramarenko, had resigned from the position she had held since April 2023. In a conversation with the media outlet, Kramarenko said that a key reason for her decision was the “unfounded and unlawful dismissal of Maksym Ostapenko from the position of director general.”
11.07.2025 The Kamyanets-Podilskyi City Council provided the information requested by ZHAR.INFO journalist Maria Turchyna on June 30, 2025, following the journalist’s complaint to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. The query concerned the City Council deputies’ business trips abroad, Maria Turchyna tells the Institute of Mass Information representative Alena Bereza.
According to her, she submitted a query to the Kamyanets-Podilskyi City Council on April 9, asking for digital information about all orders relating to the Council’s deputies trips abroad issued by the mayor or the person performing his duties. The period of interest spanned from 2023. On April 15, the information administrator replied that the processing of the query was being postponed, and on May 8, the journalist received a refusal.
“I sent a query to the Council, asking for the orders allowing the City’s deputies to travel abroad. First, I received a postponement notice, then a reply signed by the executive secretary, Anatoliy Bankovskyi, demanding I verify my identity,” says journalist Maria Turchyna.
According to the journalist, the media outlet then called the City Council to clarify whether the administrator body realized that they were violating the right to information.
“The person executing the letter confirmed by phone that she had been instructed to give such a reply by Anatoliy Bankovskyi himself, who refused to sign other response versions. They were also aware that they were in breach of the law. I filed a complaint with the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights. On June 30, after an intervention by the Commissioner’s Office, my right to information was restored,” added Maria Turchyna.
The Kamianets-Podilskyi City Council’s answer to the journalist’s information query arrived in her email inbox on June 30.
ONLINE PRESSURE
Other instances of online pressure – 3
1. ZN.ua journalist Inna Vedernikova reports Telegram smear campagin targeting her
21.07.2025 Inna Vedernikova, domestic policy editor at Dzerkalo Tyzhnya (ZN.ua), is being targeted in a smear campaign in anonymous Telegram channels along with her family, the journalist reported in a Facebook post on July 17.
The journalist says the second wave of smear content began recently in the anonymous Telegram channel Joker. The posts, which have signs of fabrication, primarily concerned her husband Volodymyr Reznikov, former deputy chief of traffic police who is now serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Inna Vedernikova discussed her husband’s case in her post.
“Responding to Joker's drivel is self-disrispect. But their budget must be quite large. Today (July 17 — Ed.) there was a second wave of attempts to discredit me as a journalist, the news outlet where I have worked for 20 years, and my family… It's just that I can see that this is not just a smear campaign commissioned for money, because there has been an attempt at enforcement-by-phone: a prosecutor has already called me, saying that their office is already keeping tabs on my husband, who serves in the UAF,” she wrote.
Vedernikova added that she was lost in guesses as to who might be the initiator and the perpetrator the commissioned campaign, but believes that the authorities were involved: “Bankova St., who did not like Dzerkalo Tyznia's statement on Vitaliy Shabunin and who have long been offended by our demands for reasonable public administration and fighting corruption? Lawyer Borzykh, whose actions we exposed and whose team is being charged with continued illegal interference in the work of the Unified State Register of Court Ruilngs?”
Inna Vedernikova declined the Institute of Mass Information's request for a comment, arguing that she had told everything in her Facebook post and that discussing the numerous attacks on the news outlet's chief editor and other journalists that have been posted by Joker in recent months meant giving them undue weight and significance.
Inna Vedernikova also clarified to IMI that this was not the first wave of attacks on media workers and anti-corruption activists by the Telegram channel. According to her, the people running Joker's first channel, which was deleted by Telegram on March 30, 2025, for posting personal data, actively smeared Yuriy Butusov, Yuriy Nikolov, and Vitaliy Shabunin. The second iteration of the channel, created on March 31, continued the attacks on Shabunin and focused their "attention" on Dzerkalo Tyzhnia journalists, namely Yulia Mostova, Yulia Samayeva, and Inna Vedernikova.
Analysis by IMI representative Kateryna Lysiuk showed that on July 15–18 alone, Joker’s posts mentioned ZN.UA, Yulia Mostova, Inna Vedernikova, and her husband Volodymyr Reznikov more than 30 times. All posts were overtly derogatory.
29.07.2025 Linza journalist Kateryna Vovk was targeted in an SMS bombing attack on July 26 and 27. Her media outlet covered the day-long protests in Khmelnytskyi demanding the independence of NABU and SAPO be restored.
Kateryna Vovk reported the attack in a Facebook post and elaborated in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information.
The attack on Kateryna Vovk's mobile number began early on July 27 and lasted five hours.
“Spam messages with access codes to various sites arrived at my phone number continuously for five hours (07:30 – 12:30) on July 27. There was also an attempt to access my Telegram account. In between these, there were several calls from unknown numbers,” Kateryna Vovk told IMI.
The journalist says that the targeted phone number was the one she last shared while talking with the police (July 22, 2025) when she notified them of a peaceful action protesting the dismantling of NABU and SAPO's independence.
“That is, this phone number is not my primary one, and I do not use it often. In particular, when creating accounts on various websites, I always list a different number. Such attacks have never happened before,” the journalist added.
29.07.2025 ZHAR.INFO founder and journalist Alyona Bereza was targeted in an SMS bombing attack on July 26 and 27. Her media outlet covered the day-long protests in Khmelnytskyi demanding the independence of NABU and SAPO be restored.
Alyona Bereza reported the attack in a Facebook post and elaborated in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information.
Alyona Bereza received a flood of messages and Viber texts with codes to restore access to various websites starting late on July 26.
“At first I thought it was the work of those invested in the construction projects in Khmelnytskyi city which I posted about critically on the evening of July 25. That is why I wrote a post tagging the mayor. And the next morning (July 26. – Ed.) another journalist, whose media outlet, like ZHAR.INFO, covered the protests in Khmelnytskyi, faced a similar attack. That was when I realized what exactly this SMS bombing had to do with,” Alyona Bereza told IMI.
According to the journalist, the attack lasted almost four hours.
LEGAL PRESSURE
Other instances of legal pressure – 1
1. Cherkasy-based news outlet 18000 reports pressure over their investigation about a judge
16.07.2025 Journalist Iryna Maliukova of the Cherkasy-based media outlet 18000 Iryna Malyukova was summoned for questioning by the police over an investigation that was released on the news outlet’s YouTube channel a year ago. The 18000 team reported the pressure on their website.
On July 9, a letter from the Cherkasy Oblast National Police HQ arrived in the media outlet’s email inbox. In it, investigator Olha Dadyak demanded the team provide documents related to the work of the journalist Iryna Maliukova. She was later summoned for questioning on July 15.
The query and the summoning occurred as part of the proceedings concerning the investigation “Inheriting a 11 million apartment and a private berth: Cherkasy officials' larges expenses”, which 18000 published over a year ago, on April 15, 2024. In it, the journalist analyzed the declarations of Cherkasy officials, including the Prydniprovskyi District Court judge Vladyslav Konstantin. The video said that the judge’s family completed the construction of a 297-square-meter house near Cherkasy in 2022 and registered it as property of the judge’s wife, whose income is too low to build a house of this size.
After the video was released, the judge filed a complaint with the police. Law enforcers opened proceedings under Part 1 of Article 376 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (“Any interference with activity of a judge for the purpose of preventing him form performance of his official duties or obtaining an unlawful judgment”).
“In our work, the team is guided by the laws of Ukraine and professional journalism standards. We regard the opening of the proceedings as persecution and pressure targeting the media outlet and our journalist Iryna Maliukova. The purpose of such actions is to hinder the work of journalists and create problems for the editorial team,” 18000 notes in their statement.
The editorial office is working with specialized lawyers from the Institute for Regional Press Development to defend themselves.
DEFENDING FREEDOM OF SPEECH
The authorities' response to freedom of speech violations – 1
1. Police opens case over obstruction faced by RBC Ukraine
17.07.2025 The Kyiv police have launched a pre-trial investigation in the case under Article 171 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: obstruction of legal reporting, the Kyiv police reports.
“The investigation was opened following an official statement by a prominent Ukrainian media outlet, RBC Ukraine, regarding possible pressure on the publication's editorial team and attempts to discredit their work,” the police said.
The police are establishing all the details of the incident, identifying individuals who may have been involved, and collecting the necessary evidence.
As reported earlier, the online media outlet RBC Ukraine was targeted in a campaign of pressure and obstruction of legal reporting on July 17 due to their news story about activist Nazariy Husakov.
Response by the journalist community – 1
1. NGOs, media call on Verkhovna Rada to resume livestreams of sessions
28.07.2025 Multiple civil society organizations and media outlets are calling on the Verkhovna Rada to resume Rada TV livestreams of plenary sessions and to publish the session agendas in advance.
An address to that effect, to which the Institute of Mass Information is a signatory, was released on the CHESNO Movement website on July 28.
The address asks to resume the livestreams starting with the upcoming session considering the draft bill restoring the independence of the NABU and the SAPO.
“We live in times of great distrust and social tension. Decision-making transparency is not a formality but the basis of trust in the parliament. Secrecy only makes suspicions of backstage deals grow and discredits institutions. We demand to immediately resume livestreams of Verkhovna Rada plenary sessions, starting from the next one,” the address says.
The address notes that the decisions in question are of fundamental importance for anti-corruption reform, international trust in Ukraine, and European integration. “That is why society should be able to see MPs voting in real time and hear what stances they take publicly,” the address says.
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