Ukraine / Europe & Central Asia

  
Members of the Central Electoral Commission of Ukraine sit near a screen displaying election results at the commission's headquarters in Kiev, on July 22. On July 30, a group of people disrupted a press conference in the city about alleged election fraud, and attacked staff of the state news agency Ukrinform. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Assailants disrupt Ukrinform press conference, attack staff in Kiev

On July 30, 2019, a group of men disrupted a press conference at the Kiev offices of Ukrinform, according to the state-run news agency and Ukrainskaya Pravda.

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The damaged building of Ukrainian broadcaster 112 Ukraine is seen in Kiev on July 13, 2019. The broadcaster, along with NewsOne, have faced threats and attacks in the run-up to Ukraine's parliamentary elections. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Pro-Russia broadcasters attacked, threatened with violence in Ukraine

On July 13, 2019, at approximately 3:40 a.m., an unknown attacker fired a rocket-propelled grenade at the Kiev office of TV news broadcaster 112 Ukraine, damaging the building but causing no injuries, according to media reports.

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People gather in front of the Ukrainian parliament during the inauguration on May 20, 2019, of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who campaigned on an anti-corruption platform. Cherkasy-based journalist Vadym Komarov, known for reporting on local corruption, died June 20 as the result of an assault six weeks earlier. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian journalist Vadym Komarov dies six weeks after assault

Washington, D.C., June 20, 2019 -Ukrainian investigative reporter Vadym Komarov died today as the result of an assault on May 4, local media reported. Unidentified men beat the Cherkasy-based journalist’s head with a heavy object, one day after he posted on Facebook that he planned to publish news on alleged corruption in sports schools, according…

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CPJ calls on Ukrainian President Zelenskiy to prioritize press freedom

CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon writes to Ukraine’s newly elected president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, urging him to prioritize and promote press freedom in the country.

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Police cars are seen in Kiev, Ukraine, on May 29, 2018. A journalist was recently attacked in Cherkasy and is now in a coma. (Reuters/Gleb Garanich)

Ukrainian journalist in coma following assault

New York, May 7, 2019 — Ukrainian authorities should conduct a swift and thorough investigation into an assault on freelance investigative reporter Vadym Komarov and bring the perpetrators to justice, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

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Russian journalist Kirill Vyshinskiy listens to a lawyer in a court room in Kherson, Ukraine, on May 17, 2018. His trial, for treason, began yesterday. (AP/Victor Platov)

Treason trial of Russian state media journalist begins in Ukraine

New York, April 5, 2019 — The trial of Kirill Vyshynsky, Kiev bureau chief of the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, started yesterday in the Podil district court in Kiev, according to Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform. The court heard the prosecutor’s indictment and will convene again on April 15, the news agency said.

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The Ustilug checkpoint on Ukraine's border with Poland is seen on November 15, 2017. An Austrian journalist was recently banned from entering Ukraine for one year. (Reuters)

Ukraine bars Austrian reporter from entering for one year

Kiev, March 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ukraine to reverse its decision to ban Christian Wehrschütz, a veteran reporter for the state-run Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, from entering the country for one year.

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A woman sells newspapers and magazines in central Kiev, Ukraine, on January 24, 2019. Two Ukrainian journalists were recently assaulted by officials of the village council of Chabany, a town south of Kiev. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Ukrainian officials assault investigative reporter and cameraman

Kiev, March 8, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today called on Ukrainian authorities to swiftly investigate an assault on reporter Katerina Kaplyuk and cameraman Boris Trotsenko, who work for the investigative news show “Schemes,” a project of U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian Service, and to ensure their attackers are held accountable.

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Cars drive on a highway in Kiev, Ukraine, on January 18, 2017. Journalists in Kiev have recently reported being watched and followed. (Gleb Garanich/Reuters)

Ukrainian investigative journalists report being followed, monitored

Kiev, February 25, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today expressed concern for the safety of journalists working at Ukraine’s Schemes and Bihus.Info investigative journalism outlets after both reported being followed and surveilled last week, and called on authorities to swiftly investigate the matter.

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A vendor of magazines, newspapers, and calendars sits in an underground walkway in central Kiev, Ukraine, on November 18, 2016. A Ukrainian court granted the prosecutor general access to a news magazine's files and reporter's emails in February 2019. (Reuters/Valentyn Ogirenko)

Ukrainian court grants prosecutor access to newsmagazine’s files, reporter’s emails

Kiev, February 19, 2019–The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned a ruling by the Pechersk District Court of Kiev granting investigators from Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office access to internal documents of independent newsmagazine Novoye Vremya and email conversations of its reporter Ivan Verstiuk in an attempt to discover a source.

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