Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

was in 96th placeUkraine returns to top 100 of World Press Freedom Index

Ukrinform The National News Agency of Ukraine ( uk, Українське національне інформаційне агентство), or Ukrinform ( uk, Укрінформ), is a state information and news agency, and international broadcaster of ...

(21 April 2020) out of 180 countries listed in the 2020

World Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to re ...

, having returned to top 100 of this list for the first time since 2009, but dropped down one spot to 97th place in 2021, being characterized as being in a "difficult situation". Press freedom scores had significantly improved since the

Orange Revolution The Orange Revolution ( uk, Помаранчева революція, translit=Pomarancheva revoliutsiia) was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate afterm ...

of 2004.Freedom of the Press 2007: A Global Survey of Media Independence
by

Freedom House Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, 2007, (page 11/12) However, in 2010 and again in 2011 Freedom House perceived "negative trends in Ukraine" with government-critical opposition media outlets being closed.Report Says Decline In Freedom Continues Across Former Soviet Union

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

(13 January 2011) According to the Freedom House, The Ukrainian legal framework on media freedom used to be "among the most progressive in eastern Europe", although implementation has been uneven. The

Constitution of Ukraine The Constitution of Ukraine ( uk, Конституція України, translit=Konstytutsiia Ukrainy) is the fundamental law of Ukraine. The constitution was adopted and ratified at the 5th session of the ''Verkhovna Rada'', the parliament ...

and a 1991 law provide for freedom of speech.1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

US Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other ...

(23 February 2000) Many Ukrainian journalists found themselves internally displaced due to the Russian annexation of

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

and the

war in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

, including Donetsk-based investigative journalist Oleksiy Matsuka, Luhansk blogger Serhiy Ivanov and Donetsk ''Ostrov'' independent website editor Serhiy Harmash. The entire staff of ''Ostrov'' left the occupied Donbas areas and relocated to Kyiv.

History

The ''

Freedom in the World ''Freedom in the World'' is a yearly survey and report by the U.S.-based non-governmental organization Freedom House that measures the degree of civil liberties and political rights in every nation and significant related and disputed territo ...

'' report by

rated Ukraine "partly free" from 1992 until 2003, when it was rated "not free". After 2005, it was rated "partly free" again. According to Freedom House

internet in Ukraine The Internet in Ukraine is well developed and steadily growing, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; in April 2012 rapid growth was forecast for at least two more years. , Ukraine was ranked 9th in the "Top 10 Internet countries in ...

is "Free" and

the press ''The Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Christchurch, New Zealand owned by media business Stuff Ltd. First published in 1861, the newspaper is the largest circulating daily in the South Island and publishes Monday to Saturday. One comm ...

is "Partly Free". Ukraine's ranking in

Reporters Without Borders Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...

Press Freedom Index The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...

has long been around the 90th spot (89 in 2009, 87 in 2008), while it occupied the 112th spot in 2002 and even the 132nd spot in 2004. In 2010 it fell to the 131st place; according to Reporters Without Borders this was the result of "the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych's election as president in February". In 2013 Ukraine occupied the 126th spot (dropping 10 places compared with 2012); (according to Reporters Without Borders) "the worst record for the media since the

in 2004". In the 2017 World Press Freedom Index Ukraine was placed 102nd. During an opinion poll by

Research & Branding Group Research & Branding Group ( uk, Дослідницька та бренд-консалтингова компанія) is a Ukrainian non-governmental marketing and sociological research company. Research and Branding undertake a number of signifi ...

in October 2009 49.2% of the respondents stated that Ukraine's level of freedom of speech was sufficient, and 19.6% said the opposite. Another 24.2% said that there was too much of freedom of speech in Ukraine. According to the data, 62% of respondents in

western Ukraine Western Ukraine or West Ukraine ( uk, Західна Україна, Zakhidna Ukraina or , ) is the territory of Ukraine linked to the former Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia, which was part of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Austria ...

considered the level of freedom of speech sufficient, and in the

central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and southeastern regions the figures were 44% and 47%, respectively. In a late 2010 poll also conducted by the Research & Branding Group 56% of all Ukrainians trusted the media and 38.5% didn't.

Kuchma presidencies (1994–2004)

After the (only)

term of office A term of office, electoral term, or parliamentary term is the length of time a person serves in a particular elected office. In many jurisdictions there is a defined limit on how long terms of office may be before the officeholder must be subject ...

of the first

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Leonid Kravchuk Leonid Makarovych Kravchuk ( uk, Леонід Макарович Кравчук; 10 January 1934 – 10 May 2022) was a Ukrainian politician and the first president of Ukraine, serving from 5 December 1991 until 19 July 1994. In 1992, he signed ...

ended in 1994, the freedom of the press worsened. During the presidency of

Leonid Kuchma Leonid Danylovych Kuchma ( uk, Леоні́д Дани́лович Ку́чма; born 9 August 1938) is a Ukrainian politician who was the second president of Ukraine from 19 July 1994 to 23 January 2005. Kuchma's presidency saw numerous corrup ...

(1994–2004) several news-outlets critical to him were forcefully closed. In 1999 the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American independent non-profit, non-governmental organization, based in New York City, New York, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journa ...

placed Kuchma on the list of worst enemies of the press. In that year the

Ukrainian Government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

partially limited freedom of the press through tax inspections (

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; née, né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukraine, Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January ...

, who later became

Prime Minister of Ukraine The prime minister of Ukraine ( uk, Прем'єр-міністр України, ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of th ...

, headed the tax authority during Kuchma's presidency), libel cases, subsidization, and intimidation of journalists; this caused many journalists to practice self-censorship. In 2003 and 2004 authorities interfered with the media by issuing written and oral instructions about what events to cover. Toward the very end of the

2004 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 31 October, 21 November and 26 December 2004. The election was the fourth presidential election to take place in Ukraine following independence from the Soviet Union. The last stages of the election ...

campaign in November 2004, many media outlets began to ignore government direction and covered events in a more objective, professional manner.

Orange revolution and Yushchenko presidency (2004–2010)

Since the

(of 2004) Ukrainian media have become more pluralistic and independent.CIS: Press Freedom In Former Soviet Union Under Assault

(28 April 2006 )2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(6 March 2007) For instance, attempts by authorities to limit freedom of the press through tax inspections have ceased.2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(25 February 2004)2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(28 February 2005)2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(23 February 2001)2001 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(4 March 2002)2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(31 March 2003)2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(8 March 2006) Since then the Ukrainian press is considered to be among the freest of all

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

(only the

Baltic states The Baltic states, et, Balti riigid or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term, which currently is used to group three countries: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, ...

are considered "free").Ukraine (Country Guide)
by Sarah Johnstone and Greg Bloom,

Lonely Planet Lonely Planet is a travel guide book publisher. Founded in Australia in 1973, the company has printed over 150 million books. History Early years Lonely Planet was founded by married couple Maureen and Tony Wheeler. In 1972, they embarked ...

, 2008, (page 39) After the 2005

, Ukrainian television became more free. In February 2009 the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting claimed that "political pressure on mass media increased in recent times through amending laws and other normative acts to strengthen influence on mass media and regulatory bodies in this sphere". In 2007, in Ukraine's provinces numerous, anonymous attacks and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds. The US-based

concluded in 2007 that these attacks, and police reluctance in some cases to pursue the perpetrators, were "helping to foster an atmosphere of impunity against independent journalists." In Ukraine's provinces numerous, anonymous attacks and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds. The US-based

concluded in 2007 that these attacks, and police reluctance in some cases to pursue the perpetrators, were "helping to foster an atmosphere of impunity against independent journalists." Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased since the February 2010 election of

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of Di ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

.Concerns Mount About Press Freedom In Ukraine As Journalist Attacked

(21 September 2010) In December 2009, and during the

2010 Ukrainian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Ukraine on 17 January 2010. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a run-off election was held between Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko and opposition leader Viktor Yanukovych on 7 February. On 14 F ...

, campaign incumbent

and presidential candidate

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();oligarchic Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

groups. As of January 2009,

Ukrainian Prime Minister The prime minister of Ukraine ( uk, Прем'єр-міністр України, ) is the head of government of Ukraine. The prime minister presides over the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, which is the highest body of the executive branch of th ...

Yulia Tymoshenko Yulia Volodymyrivna Tymoshenko ( uk, Юлія Володимирівна Тимошенко, ; Hrihyan ();

Yanukovych presidency (2010-2013)

Since

was elected

President of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

in February 2010 Ukrainian journalists and international journalistic watchdogs (including the

European Federation of Journalists The European Federation of Journalists is the European regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists. It is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing about 320,000 journalists in 71 journalists’ orga ...

and

) have complained about a deterioration of press freedom in Ukraine. Yanukovych responded (in May 2010) that he "deeply values press freedom" and that "free, independent media that must ensure society's unimpeded access to information". Anonymous journalists stated early May 2010 that they were voluntarily tailoring their coverage so as not to offend the Yanukovych administration and the Azarov Government. The Azarov Government denies censoring the media, so did the

Presidential Administration The term administration, as used in the context of government, differs according to the jurisdiction under which it operates. In general terms, administration can be described as a decision making body. United States In American usage, the ter ...

Opposition benefiting from topic of censorship at mass media, says Hanna Herman

Kyiv Post The ''Kyiv Post'' is the oldest English-language newspaper in Ukraine, founded in October 1995 by Jed Sunden. History American Jed Sunden founded the ''Kyiv Post'' weekly newspaper on Oct. 18, 1995 and later created KP Media for his holdings. ...

(13 May 2009) and President Yanukovych himself.

Deputy Head

Hanna Herman Hanna Mykolaivna Herman ( uk, Га́нна Микола́ївна Ге́рман) (born 24 April 1959; Lviv region,

stated on 13 May 2010 that the opposition benefited from discussions about the freedom of the press in Ukraine and also suggested that the recent reaction of foreign journalists organizations had been provoked by the opposition. On 12 May 2010, the

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democracy, democratic government, governance of a sovereign state, state (or subordinate entity) where the Executive (government), executive derives its democratic legitimacy ...

committee for freedom of speech and information called on the

General Prosecutor A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

's Office to immediately investigate complaints by journalists of pressure on journalists and censorship. Also in May 2010 the Stop Censorship movement was founded by more than 500 journalist. A law on strengthening the protection of the ownership of

mass media Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets. Broadcast media transmit information ...

offices,

publishing house Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

s, bookshops and distributors, as well as creative unions was passed by the

Ukrainian Parliament The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine ( uk, Верхо́вна Ра́да Украї́ни, translit=, Verkhovna Rada Ukrainy, translation=Supreme Council of Ukraine, Ukrainian abbreviation ''ВРУ''), often simply Verkhovna Rada or just Rada, is the ...

on 20 May 2010. Since the February 2010 election of Viktor Yanukovych as President Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased. The

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...

addressed an open letter to President Yanukovych on 10 August 2010 urging him to address what the organisation saw as a disturbing deterioration in press freedom over the previous six months in Ukraine.

PACE Pace or paces may refer to: Business *Pace (transit), a bus operator in the suburbs of Chicago, US * Pace Airlines, an American charter airline *Pace Foods, a maker of a popular brand of salsa sold in North America, owned by Campbell Soup Compan ...

rapporteur Renate Wohlwend noticed on 6 October 2010 that "Some progress had been made in recent years but there had also been some retrograde steps".European rapporteurs note media setback in Ukraine

(6 October 2010) In January 2011

stated it had perceived "negative trends in Ukraine" during 2010; these included: curbs on press freedom, the intimidation of

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

influence on the

judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

. According to the

in 2009 there were no attempts by central authorities to direct media content, but there were reports of intimidation of journalists by national and local officials.2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(11 March 2010) Media at times demonstrated a tendency toward self‑censorship on matters that the government deemed sensitive.2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine

(25 February 2009) Stories in the electronic and printed media (veiled advertisements and positive coverage presented as news) and participation in a television talk show can be bought. Media watchdog groups have express concern over the extremely high monetary damages that were demanded in

court cases Lists of case law cover instances of case law, legal decisions in which the law was analyzed to resolve ambiguities for deciding current cases. They are organized alphabetically, by topic or by country. Alphabetical lists These lists are pan- ...

concerning

libel Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...

. In 2013 there were concerns over the corrupting influence of certain political figures, connected to the government of

on Ukrainian media.

Euromaidan revolution and Poroshenko presidency (2014)

A May 2014 report from the

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

found approximately 300 instances of perceived violent attacks on the media in Ukraine since November 2013. The Ukrainian NGO Institute of Mass Information recorded at least 995 violations of free speech in 2014 - the double than in 2013 (496) and triple than in 2012 (324). Most attacks on journalists happened during the

euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of Political demonstration, demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protes ...

period in Kyiv (82 in January, 70 in February 2014). 78 journalists were abducted and illegally detained by various groups in 2014 - a new category of professional risk; 20 such cases happened in Donetsk in April 2014. In 2014 restrictions to press freedom in Ukraine included police impeding access to public buildings, physical attacks on press rooms, and cyberattacks (e.g. against the ''Glavnoe'', ''Gordon'' and

UNIAN The UNIAN or Ukrainian Independent Information Agency of News ( uk, Українське Незалежне Інформаційне Агентство Новин, УНІАН, translit=Ukrayins'ke Nezalezhne Informatsiyne Ahentstvo Novyn) is a ...

websites); in July 2014 a firebomb was thrown at the TV channel ''

112 Ukraine 112 Ukraine ( uk, 112 Україна) was a private Ukrainian TV channel which provided 24-hour news coverage. 112 Ukraine was available on satellites AMOS 2/3, via the DVB-T2 network, and was also available in packages of all major Ukrainian ca ...

''. Political interference in the media sector greatly diminished after the flight of

Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент Украї� ...

from Ukraine, with media outlets almost immediately starting to openly discuss the events of the previous months, including the moments of violence, which had previously been censored or self-censored through pressures on owners and managers. The

2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election Snap elections to the Verkhovna Rada took place on 26 October 2014. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had pressed for early parliamentary elections since his victory in the presidential election in May. Minor cases of pressures or censorship attempts were reported in 2014 too. In

Kirovohrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

in December 2014 a regional politician ordered a subordinate to review the ''Zorya'' newspaper before its publication.

Censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

issues were debated in 2015 concerning aggressive propaganda from Russian state-owned news outlets to support the Russian annexation of

, encourage separatism in

Donbas The Donbas or Donbass (, ; uk, Донба́с ; russian: Донба́сс ) is a historical, cultural, and economic region in eastern Ukraine. Parts of the Donbas are controlled by Russian separatist groups as a result of the Russo-Ukrai ...

and discredit the Kyiv government. Creating some concern among Western human rights monitors was that under the impact of war and perceived extreme social polarization the Ukrainian government has been accused of cracking down on pro-separatist points of view. For example, Ukraine also shut down most Russia-based television stations on the grounds that they purvey "propaganda," and barred a growing list of Russian journalists from entering the country. The Ministry of Information Policy was established on 2 December 2014.Rada supports coalition-proposed government lineup

Interfax-Ukraine The Interfax-Ukraine ( uk, Інтерфакс-Україна) is a Kyiv-based Ukraine, Ukrainian independent news agency founded in 1992. The company does not belong to the Russian news corporation Interfax Information Services. The company pub ...

(2 December 2014)
Rada approves new Cabinet with three foreigners

(2 December 2014)
Rada voted the new Cabinet

Ukrayinska Pravda ''Ukrainska Pravda'' ( uk, Українська правда, lit=Ukrainian Truth) is a Ukrainian online newspaper founded by Georgiy Gongadze on 16 April 2000 (the day of the Ukrainian constitutional referendum). Published mainly in Ukraini ...

(2 December 2014) The ministry oversees information policy in Ukraine. According to the first Minister of Information,

Yuriy Stets Yuriy Yaroslavovych Stets ( uk, Юрій Ярославович Стець; born 29 December 1975) is a Ukrainian journalist and politician. He was appointed to the post of Minister of Information Policy at the formation of the Second Yatsenyuk G ...

, one of the goals of its formation was to counteract " Russian information aggression" amidst pro-Russian unrest across Ukraine, and the ongoing war in the Donbas region.

Ukrainian president The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...

said that the main function of the ministry is to stop "the spreading of biased information about Ukraine".Poroshenko: Information Ministry's main task is to repel information attacks against Ukraine

(8 December 2014) On 16 May 2017 president Poroshenko signed a decree banning various Russian internet service providers and news sources, among others,

VKontakte VK (short for its original name ''VKontakte''; russian: ВКонтакте, meaning ''InContact'') is a Russian online social media and social networking service based in Saint Petersburg. VK is available in multiple languages but it is predomin ...

Odnoklassniki Odnoklassniki ( rus, Одноклассники, t=Classmates) is a social network service used mainly in Russia and former Soviet Republics. The site was developed by Albert Popkov and launched on March 4, 2006. The website currently has more ...

Yandex Yandex LLC (russian: link=no, Яндекс, p=ˈjandəks) is a Russian multinational technology company providing Internet-related products and services, including an Internet search engine, information services, e-commerce, transportation, maps ...

Rossiya Segodnya MIA Rossiya Segodnya (; ) is a media group owned and operated by the Russian government, created on the basis of RIA Novosti. The group owns and operates Sputnik, RIA Novosti, inoSMI and several other entities. The head of the organisation is ...

, RBC, VGTRK, but also a number of independent stations such as the RBC, claiming this was done for "security reasons". Tanya Cooper from

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in New York City, that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. The group pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and individual human r ...

called the decree: "a cynical, politically expedient attack on the right to information affecting millions of Ukrainians, and their personal and professional lives".

(RSF) also condemned the ban imposed on Russian social networks. Since November 2015 Ukrainian authorities, state agencies and local government authorities are forbidden to act as founders (or cofounders) of printed media outlets. Freedom House reported the status of press freedom in

in 2015 as improving from Not Free to Partly Free. It justified the change as follows:

Ukraine 2015 Freedom of the Press
report

due to profound changes in the media environment after the fall of President Viktor Yanukovych's government in February, despite a rise in attacks on journalists during the Euromaidan protests of early 2014 and the subsequent conflict in eastern Ukraine. The level of government hostility and legal pressure faced by journalists decreased, as did political pressure on state-owned outlets. The media also benefited from improvements to the law on access to information and the increased independence of the broadcasting regulator.

In 2015 the main concerns about media freedom in Ukraine concern the handling of pro-Russian propaganda, the

concentration of media ownership Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...

, and the high risks of violence against journalists, especially in the conflict areas in the east. In September 2015 Freedom House classified the

Internet in Ukraine The Internet in Ukraine is well developed and steadily growing, mostly uninfluenced by the global financial crisis; in April 2012 rapid growth was forecast for at least two more years. , Ukraine was ranked 9th in the "Top 10 Internet countries in ...

as "partly free" and

as "partly free". Ukraine was in 102nd place out of 180 countries listed in the 2017

. In 2017 organizations like

and

condemned then Poroshenko's government recent bans on media.

Press freedom scores as perceived by Freedom House

The following table shows press freedom scores calculated each year by a foreign non-governmental organisation called

. The year is the year of issue, and data relate to the previous year. *Score 0–30 = press were free. *Score 31–60 = press were partly free. *Score 61–100 = press were not free.

Attacks and threats against journalists

Ukraine was one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world during the

demonstrations and the

. A May 2014 report from the

found approximately 300 instances of perceived violent attacks on the media in Ukraine since November 2013. 78 journalists were abducted and illegally detained by various groups in 2014 - a new category of professional risk; 20 such cases happened in Donetsk in April 2014. In July 2014 a firebomb was thrown at the TV channel ''

''. In September 2016

Inter Inter may refer to: Association football clubs * Inter Milan, an Italian club * SC Internacional, a Brazilian club * Inter Miami CF, an American club * FC Inter Sibiu, a Romanian club * FC Inter Turku, a Finnish club * FK Inter Bratislava, a forme ...

TV channel - often accused of being pro-Russia - was put to fire during a protest.

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

has appealed for the release of Ukrainian journalist

Ruslan Kotsaba Ruslan Petrovych Kotsaba ( uk, Руслан Петрович Коцаба; born 18 August 1966) is a Ukrainian journalist, activist, blogger and conscientious objector who has been described as a pro-Russian blogger by ''USA Today'' and as a p ...

and declared him a prisoner of conscience. The website

Myrotvorets Myrotvorets or Mirotvorets ( uk, Миротворець, lit=Peacemaker ), is a Ukrainian Kyiv-based website that publishes a running list, and sometimes personal information, of people who are considered by authors of the website to be "enemies ...

has published personal information about journalists.

Timeline of reporters killed in Ukraine

Under former

opposition papers were closed and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances.

Missing reporters

Sergei Dolgov Sergei Dolgov, also transliterated as Sergey or Serhiy, (ca. 1964), was a Ukrainian journalist from Russia who served as editor for the ''Vestnik Pryazovya'' and ''Khochu v SSSR'' in Mariupol, Ukraine before he went missing. He was notorious for pr ...

, a newspaper editor from Mariupol, went missing in June 2014 during the

War in Donbas War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

and is presumed dead by some mostly pro-Russian sources.

Banned journalists, media, websites

The Ukrainian government and President

have banned journalists, media and websites. The new sanctions in May 2017 targeted 1,228 people and 468 companies. The decision was condemned by

and

. The most well known included:

Literature

The Government of Ukraine started banning books in 2016 that a special committee (State Committee for State TV and Radio Broadcasting's licensing and distribution-control department) had determined to contain anti-Ukrainian content. In January 2018, the Russian version of British historian

Antony Beevor Sir Antony James Beevor, (born 14 December 1946) is a British military historian. He has published several popular historical works on the Second World War and the Spanish Civil War. Early life Born in Kensington, Beevor was educated at two ...

's ''

Stalingrad Volgograd ( rus, Волгогра́д, a=ru-Volgograd.ogg, p=vəɫɡɐˈɡrat), geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn (russian: Цари́цын, Tsarítsyn, label=none; ) (1589–1925), and Stalingrad (russian: Сталингра́д, Stal ...

'' was added to this list. The head of the committee, Serhiy Oliyinyk, told

Radio Free Europe Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) is a United States government funded organization that broadcasts and reports news, information, and analysis to countries in Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Caucasus, and the Middle East where it says tha ...

that one particular reason was that Beevor had included information about Ukrainian militia killing 90 Jewish children on orders of the SS "to save the feelings of the

Sonderkommando ''Sonderkommandos'' (, ''special unit'') were work units made up of German Nazi death camp prisoners. They were composed of prisoners, usually Jews, who were forced, on threat of their own deaths, to aid with the disposal of gas chamber vict ...

." He claimed this had never been confirmed at post-war trials and was taken from Soviet sources. Beevor strongly criticized the ban and said the source was actually German resistance fighter

Helmuth Groscurth Helmuth Groscurth (16 December 1898 – 7 April 1943) was a German staff and ''Abwehr'' officer in the Wehrmacht and a member of the German resistance. As an intelligence officer he was an early proponent of the Brandenburgers, commanded unconve ...

. "It's utterly outrageous. They have no reason for doing it. It's quite clear both in the Russian edition and English edition what the source was and where it came from – this rather brave and religious officer roscurthwho protested strongly, despite threats he would be reported to Himmler ... about this massacre of the children. There's no way the Soviets would even have known about it." It was also strongly criticized by the Ukraine-based ''Human Rights in Ukraine''.

Internet censorship and surveillance

In December 2010 the

OpenNet Initiative The OpenNet Initiative (ONI) was a joint project whose goal was to monitor and report on internet filtering and surveillance practices by nations. The project employed a number of technical means, as well as an international network of investigato ...

found little or no evidence of Internet filtering in all four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test."ONI Country Profile: Ukraine"
OpenNet Initiative, 21 December 2010 In its ''Freedom on the Net'' report covering the period May 2012 through April 2013,

found the Internet in Ukraine to be "largely unhindered" and rated the Internet in Ukraine as "Free" with an overall score of 28 on a scale from 0 (most free) to 100 (least free). The report said that "there is no practice of institutionalized blocking or filtering, or a regulatory framework for censorship of content online", but "there have been attempts at creating legislation which could censor or limit content" and would "present indirect threats to freedom of information online.""Ukraine"
, ''Freedom on the Net 2013'', Freedom House, 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014. As of 2012, access to Internet content in Ukraine was largely unfettered. Ukraine possessed relatively liberal legislation governing the Internet and access to information. While there were no government restrictions on access to the Internet, law enforcement bodies were known to monitor the Internet, at times without appropriate legal authority. There have been occasional agitations of interference by law enforcement agencies with prominent bloggers and online publications.
''Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2012'', Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, U.S. Department of State, 15 April 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014. In 2014 it was reported that the

Security Service of Ukraine The Security Service of Ukraine ( uk, Служба безпеки України, translit=Sluzhba bezpeky Ukrainy}) or SBU ( uk, СБУ, link=no) is the law enforcement authority and main intelligence and security agency of the Ukrainian ...

(SBU) asked the

Ukrainian Internet Association The Ukrainian Internet Association (UIA) was founded in November 2000 in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which ...

(UIA) to block a list of websites accused of "promote war, ethnic hatred, and violent change in the constitutional order or territorial integrity of Ukraine." Such orders should, however, come from courts of law and not security agencies. On 16 May 2017, President Poroshenko signed a decree requiring providers to block access to a number of Russian websites including four of the most popular websites in Ukraine:

and

Mail.Ru VK, known as Mail.ru Group until 12 October 2021, is a Russian technology company. It started in 1998 as an e-mail service and went on to become a major corporate figure in the Russian-speaking segment of the Internet. VK operates an e-mail s ...

. The president claimed they participated in an information war against Ukraine.

Situation in the Russian-annexed Crimea

The media environment in

was completely transformed by the March 2014 Russian

annexation Annexation (Latin ''ad'', to, and ''nexus'', joining), in international law, is the forcible acquisition of one state's territory by another state, usually following military occupation of the territory. It is generally held to be an illegal act ...

of the peninsula, after the ejection of

from power in

following the

protests. Russian authorities engineered an annexation referendum to Russia, and restrictive Russian media laws started to be enacted in the Black Sea peninsula too. Media conditions in Crimea in 2014 were worse than in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

itself, due to the effort of Russia-imposed authorities to rein in a previously relatively pluralistic media landscape. Media outlets were shut down, broadcasts of Ukrainian channels were suspended, and journalists fled the region due to fears of harassment, violence, and arrests. The situation of press freedom in Crimea in 2014 was identified by

as the worst in the European continent.

Crimea 2015 Press Freedom
report Russian outlets, particularly state-owned ones, enjoy a dominant position in post-annexation Crimea. The distribution of Ukrainian print media has been obstructed by Russian officials, and even the Ukrainian Postal Agency had to stop deliveries in the peninsula. Widespread and irregular expropriations by Russian authorities have also affected the Crimean media landscape Free access to the internet in Crimea was threatened by Russian authorities.

Rostelecom Rostelecom is Russia’s largest provider of digital services for a wide variety of consumers, households, private businesses, government and municipal authorities, and other telecom providers. Rostelecom interconnects all local public operators� ...

laid a cable under the

Kerch strait The Kerch Strait, uk, Керченська протока, crh, Keriç boğazı, ady, Хы ТӀуалэ is a strait in Eastern Europe. It connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov, separating the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea in the west from ...

and provided online services in the peninsula starting from July 2014. Since August 2014, mobile phone services by Ukrainian carriers were disrupted and replaced by Russian companies.

Legal framework

After the annexation, Russian authorities passed a local constitution on the Russian model and started imposing Russian legislation. Despite guarantees for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in the Russian legislation, politicised judiciary and restrictive laws devoid them of actual contents, leaving broad discretion to federal regulators in media registration and licensing. All media in Crimea, including online ones, were afforded until January 2015 to register with the Russian federal media regulator Rozkomnadzor and get a license. Officials warned editors that registration would be denied to media that spread "extremist" contents. A December 2013 Russian law against separatism (carrying sanctions of up to 5 years in prison) was used to repress criticism of the annexation and calls for a return of the territory to Ukraine. NGOs, journalists' associations and citizen groups in Crimea became subject to restrictive Russian laws, including measures limiting foreign funding. Russian authorities failed to protect journalists, activists and citizens from abuses by paramilitaries and security forces. Cases of unlawful detentions and physical assaults were reported throughout 2014 in Crimea.

Attacks and threats against journalists

Since the annexation, Russian authorities threatened and harassed pro-Ukrainian or simply independent media in Crimea. Media professionals - including foreign ones - have been obstructed, detained, questioned, and have had their equipment seized or destroyed. "Self-defence" paramilitary units have enjoyed impunity for their punitive actions against non-aligned journalists. * In June 2014 paramilitaries stopped Sergey Mokrushin and Vladen Melnikov (of the

Centre for Investigative Journalism The Centre for Investigative Journalism (CIJ) is a British independent charity providing training to journalists, researchers, producers and students in the practice and methodology of investigative journalism. It was incorporated as a Company Li ...

) on the streets of

Simferopol Simferopol () is the second-largest city in the Crimea, Crimean Peninsula. The city, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, ...

for singing an anti-Putin song. The two were detained and badly beaten, then passed to the police, who released them. * Ruslan Yugosh, among the founders of the ''Sobytiya Kryma'' (Crimean Events) news website, was summoned by the police in June 2014. In his absence from Crimea, the police interrogated his 73-years-old mother, threatening her with repercussions related to Yugosh' work. Several human rights and civic activists chose to relocate to mainland Ukraine to escape restrictions, intimidation and harassment, providing information to the Crimean public via the internet. *The independent TV and radio station ''Chornomorska'' moved to the mainland after being forced off-air in March 2014 and having its equipment seized under the pretext of failure to pay fees. *The anti-annexation blogger Yelizaveta Bohutskaya left Crimea in September 2014 after a police raid at her home. She had been questioned for six hours and had had her equipment seized. *

created a Crimean news service in Russian, Ukrainian and Tatar languages.

Repression of Crimean Tatar media

Crimean Tatar media were particularly targeted by Russian repression.

ATR ATR may refer to: Medicine * Acute transfusion reaction * Ataxia telangiectasia and Rad3 related, a protein involved in DNA damage repair Science and mathematics * Advanced Test Reactor, nuclear research reactor at the Idaho National Laboratory, ...

, ''Avdet'' and the QHA news agency remained among the last independent media operating in Crimea by the end of 2014. * In June 2014 Shevket Kaybullayev, editor of the ''Avdet'' newspaper, was questioned and warned by the prosecutor over "extremist contents" due to the paper's coverage of an opposition activities and the use of the term "occupation". In September 2014 the premises of the ''Avdet'' newspaper were raided and searched by unidentified security forces, without a warrant. The newspaper was closed down and its bank accounts seized. Kaybullayev was officially warned that he would be prosecuted and risked up to 5 years in jail if ''Avdet'' had continued reporting on calls for a boycott of the 2014 Crimean legislative election. * The Crimean Tatar TV channel

received a warning in May 2015 after covering a Tatar protest. It was subject to an inspection in September 2014 by the Interior Ministry, as suspect of inciting "extremism" and "distrust towards the authorities". KGB agents regularly called the station and applied pressures, threatening it with closure.

Situation in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk

Seven journalists and media workers were killed in Ukraine in 2014. One of them, Vyacheslav Veremiy of ''Vesti'', was shot in Kyiv in February 2014. The others died in the conflict areas in the east. (According to the

Prosecutor General of Ukraine The prosecutor general of Ukraine (also procurator general of Ukraine, uk, Генеральний прокурор України) heads the system of official prosecution in courts known as the Office of the Prosecutor General ( uk, Офіс ...

's Office, Veremiy's murderer was Jalal Aliyev. Who, according to unofficial information, was killed in

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activit ...

in July 2015 fighting for the

Donetsk People's Republic The Donetsk People's Republic ( rus, Донецкая Народная Республика, Donetskaya Narodnaya Respublika, dɐˈnʲetskəjə nɐˈrodnəjə rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə; abbreviated as DPR or DNR, rus, ДНР) is a Territorial ...

."Titushka" complicit in murder of journalist Veremiy set free in Kyiv court

(22 December 2017)) In Donetsk and Luhansk, Russian-backed separatists seized control of broadcasting infrastructure, replacing Ukrainian channels with Russian pro-Kremlin channels in both on-air and cable transmissions. In July 2014, pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk tried to deter journalists from covering the downing of the MH17 airliner by threatening them with arbitrary detention and intimidation.

Transparency of media ownership

Transparency of media ownership refers to the public availability of accurate, comprehensive and up-to-date information about media ownership structures. A legal regime guaranteeing transparency of media ownership makes possible for the public as well as for media authorities to find out who effectively owns, controls and influences the media as well as media influence on political parties or state bodies. The lack of transparency on media ownership has typically been a negative trait of the Ukrainian media system. In 2005

committed itself to the

Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...

to introduce a law for ensuring transparency of media ownership, according to the Resolution 1466 (2005)1 of the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up o ...

. In 2014, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

's progress report on the implementation of the

European Neighbourhood Policy The European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) is a foreign relations instrument of the European Union (EU) which seeks to tie those countries to the east and south of the European territory of the EU to the Union. These countries, primarily developing ...

in Ukraine found the lack of transparency as an issue in the country and that proper legislative framework should be adopted. To comply with its international commitment, legislation on transparency of media ownership has been reformed in 2015. On 10 September 2015, President

signed the law called "On Amendments to Several Laws of Ukraine on Ensuring the Transparency of Media Ownership and Implementing the Principles of state Policy in the Sphere of Television and Radio Broadcasting". The law entered into force on 1 October 2015. The new legal system regulating transparency of media ownership, which establishes a detailed system for guaranteeing transparency, has been appraised for its level of innovation by many international organisations and experts but still the effectiveness of its implementation remains to be seen. In general terms, the new regulation obliges broadcasts and program service providers to make public detailed information about their ownership structures and final beneficiaries. These requirements apply to the audiovisual sector (TV and radio), print and information agencies but not to online publications. Also, the amendments prevent businesses and individuals registered offshore from establishing and owning broadcast companies and program service providers in Ukraine. Moreover, the new law sets forth new financial disclosure rules for owners. Specifically, the new law amends article 12 of the existing Law of Ukraine on Television and Radio Broadcasting of 1994, establishing that national and local government authorities, individuals and legal entities which are registered offline, political parties, religious organisations, professional unions, and persons that were convicted by courts and that are still serving their sentences cannot be owners of a TV or radio stations in Ukraine. Furthermore, the Law prohibits to physical or legal persons residing in a country which is recognised as an aggressor or occupier the right to own a television or a radio station in Ukraine. This sentence refers to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

which annexed Crimea in 2014. The Law provides a new definition of ownership which is closely connected to the exercise of a decisive influence in the management or business activity of the media outlet directly or through other persons and includes also final beneficiaries. The Law requires that information on the ownership structure and on the individuals owning at least 10% or more of a television or radio broadcasting have to be made public on the company's website and sent to the National Council for Questions of Television and Radio Broadcasting, which is the national media regulator in Ukraine. According to the law, the council can impose fines when information provided are insufficient or incorrect. According to some experts, one of the main weakness of the new law is that it does not exclude funding from financial sources located in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...

(even if it prohibits the transfer of funds from offshore territories), through which ownership of most Ukrainian TV channels is exercised. Among some commentators there are some doubts that the Law will be amended to address this issue, due to the strong lobbying efforts of TV owners. Other doubts have been voiced due to the lack of an effective sanctions system. In 2016,

, together with the Institute of Mass Information (

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

), launched the project Media Ownership Monitor Ukraine to promote transparency in media ownership and to map who owns and controls the media in Ukraine, by creating a public available and updated database listing the owners of the main media outlets, and detailing also the interests and the affilitations of owners into companies or political parties.

History

Kuchma presidencies (1994–2004)

Orange revolution and Yushchenko presidency (2004–2010)

Yanukovych presidency (2010-2013)

Euromaidan revolution and Poroshenko presidency (2014)

Press freedom scores as perceived by Freedom House

Attacks and threats against journalists

Timeline of reporters killed in Ukraine

Missing reporters

Banned journalists, media, websites

Literature

Internet censorship and surveillance

Situation in the Russian-annexed Crimea

Legal framework

Attacks and threats against journalists

Repression of Crimean Tatar media

Situation in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Luhansk

Transparency of media ownership

See also

Notes

References

External links