Freedom of the press in Ukraine

Main article: Media of Ukraine
2014 Press Freedom Index[1]
  Very serious situation
  Difficult situation
  Noticeable problems
  Satisfactory situation
  Good situation
  Not classified / No data
Ukraine moved from "noticeable problems" (89th place) in 2009 to "difficult situation" (127th place) in 2014 in the Press Freedom Index by Reporters Without Borders.

Freedom of the press in Ukraine was considered in 2013 to be among the best of the post-Soviet states other than the Baltic states.[nb 1][2][3][4][5]

Freedom House reported the status of press freedom in Ukraine in 2015 as improving from Not Free to Partly Free. It justified the change as follows:[6]

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, and the high risks of violence against journalists, especially in the conflict areas in the east.[6]

As of September 2015, Freedom House classifies the Internet in Ukraine as "partly free" and the press as "partly free".[7] Press freedom had significantly improved since the Orange Revolution of 2004.[5][8][9] However, in 2010 Freedom House perceived "negative trends in Ukraine".[10]

The Ukrainian legal framework on media freedom is deemed "among the most progressive in eastern Europe", although implementation has been uneven.[6] The Constitution of Ukraine and a 1991 law provide for freedom of speech.[11]

Many Ukrainian journalists found themselves internally displaced due to the Russian occupation of Crimea and the war in Donbass, 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 Donbass areas and relocated to Kiev.[6]

History

The report Freedom in the World (by Freedom House) rated Ukraine "partly free" since/from 1992[12] till 2003, when it was rated "not free".[13] Since 2005 it is rated "partly free" again.[2][3] According to Freedom House internet in Ukraine is "Free" and the press is "Partly Free".[7]

Ukraine's ranking in Reporters Without Borders´s Press Freedom Index has long been around the 90th spot (89 in 2009,[14] 87 in 2008[15]), while it occupied the 112th spot in 2002[16] and even the 132nd spot in 2004.[17] 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".[18] 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 Orange Revolution in 2004".[19] In the 2014 World Press Freedom Index Ukraine was placed 127th.[20]

During an opinion poll by Research & Branding Group 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 considered the level of freedom of speech sufficient, and in the central and southeastern regions the figures were 44% and 47%, respectively.[21] In a late 2010 poll also conducted by the Research & Branding Group 56% of all Ukrainians trusted the media and 38.5% didn't.[22]

Kuchma presidencies (1994-2004)

Georgiy Gongadze, Ukrainian journalist, founder of a popular Internet newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, who was kidnapped and murdered in 2000.

After the (only) term of office of the first Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk ended in 1994, the freedom of the press worsened.[23] During the presidency of Leonid Kuchma (1994–2004) several news-outlets critical to the him were forcefully closed.[12] In 1999 the Committee to Protect Journalists placed Kuchma on the list of worst enemy's of the press.[12] In that year the Ukrainian Government partially limited freedom of the press through tax inspections (Mykola Azarov, who later became Prime Minister of Ukraine, headed the tax authority during Kuchma's presidency[24][25]), libel cases, subsidization, and intimidation of journalists; this caused many journalists to practice self-censorship.[11] In 2003 and 2004 authorities interfered with the media by issuing written and oral instructions about what events to cover.[26][27] Toward the very end of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election campaign in November 2004, many media outlets began to ignore government direction and covered events in a more objective, professional manner.[27]

Orange revolution and Yushchenko presidency (2004-2010)

Since the Orange Revolution (of 2004) Ukrainian media has become more pluralistic and independent.[5][8][9] For instance, attempts by authorities to limit freedom of the press through tax inspections have ceased.[26][27][28][29][30][31] Since then the Ukrainian press is considered to be among the freest of all post-Soviet states (only the Baltic states are considered "free").[3][4][5]

After the 2005 Orange Revolution, Ukrainian television became more free.[32] 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".[33]

In 2007, in Ukraine's provinces numerous, anonymous attacks[34] and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds.[35][36] The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists 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."[37][38]

In Ukraine’s provinces numerous, anonymous attacks[9][39][40][41] and threats persisted against journalists, who investigated or exposed corruption or other government misdeeds.[42][43] The US-based Committee to Protect Journalists 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."[44][45] Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased since the February 2010 election of Viktor Yanukovych as President.[46]

In December 2009 and during the 2010 Ukrainian presidential election campaign incumbent Prime Minister of Ukraine and presidential candidate[47] Yulia Tymoshenko complained Ukrainian TV channels are manipulating the consciousness of citizens in favor of financial and oligarchic groups.[48] As of January 2009, Ukrainian Prime Minister, Yulia Tymoshenko refused to appear in Inter TV-programmes "until journalists, management and owners of the TV channel stop destroying the freedom of speech and until they remember the essence of their profession - honesty, objectiveness, and unbiased stand".[49]

Yanukovych presidency (2010-2013)

Since Viktor Yanukovych was elected President of Ukraine in February 2010 Ukrainian journalists and international journalistic watchdogs (including the European Federation of Journalists and Reporters Without Borders) have complained about a deterioration of press freedom in Ukraine.[50][51][52][53] 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".[50] 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.[54] The Azarov Government denies censoring the media,[55] so did the Presidential Administration[56] and President Yanukovych himself.[57] Presidential Administration Deputy Head Hanna Herman stated on May 13, 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.[56] On May 12, 2010, the parliamentary committee for freedom of speech and information called on the General Prosecutor's Office to immediately investigate complaints by journalists of pressure on journalists and censorship.[58]

A law on strengthening the protection of the ownership of mass media offices, publishing houses, bookshops and distributors, as well as creative unions was passed by the Ukrainian Parliament on May 20, 2010.[59]

Since the February 2010 election of Viktor Yanukovych as President Media watchdogs have stated attacks and pressure on journalists have increased.[46] The International Press Institute addressed an open letter to President Yanukovych on August 10, 2010 urging him to address what the organisation saw as a disturbing deterioration in press freedom over the previous six months in Ukraine.[60] PACE rapporteur Renate Wohlwend noticed on October 6, 2010 that "Some progress had been made in recent years but there had also been some retrograde steps".[61] In January 2011 Freedom House stated it had perceived "negative trends in Ukraine" during 2010; these included: curbs on press freedom, the intimidation of civil society, and greater government influence on the judiciary.[10]

According to the US Department of State 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.[39] Media at times demonstrated a tendency toward self‑censorship on matters that the government deemed sensitive.[39][40] 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.[39] Media watchdog groups have express concern over the extremely high monetary damages that were demanded in court cases concerning libel.[39]

In 2013 there were concerns over the corrupting influence of certain political figures, connected to the government of Viktor Yanukovych on Ukrainian media.[62]

Euromaidan revolution and Poroshenko presidency (2014)

Journalist documenting events at the Independence square. Clashes in Ukraine, Kyiv. Events of February 18, 2014.

Ukraine was one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world during the euromaidan demonstrations and the war in Donbass. A May 2014 report from the OSCE found approximately 300 instances of perceived violent attacks on the media in Ukraine since November 2013.[63] 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 period in Kiev (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 websites); in July 2014 a firebomb was thrown at the TV channel 112 Ukraine.[6]

Political interference in the media sector greatly diminished after the flight of Yanukovych 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 Ukrainian parliamentary election, 2014 was covered with a wide variety of political orientations in the media.[6] Minor cases of pressures or censorship attempts were reported in 2014 too. In Kirovohrad in December 2014 a regional politician ordered a subordinate to review the Zorya newspaper before its publication.[6]

Censorship issues were debated in 2015 concerning aggressive propaganda from Russian state-owned news outlets to support the Russian occupation of Crimea, encourage separatism in Donbass and discredit the Kiev government.[6] 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.[64] 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.[64]

Since November 2015 Ukrainian authorities, state agencies and local government authorities are forbidden to act as founders (or cofounders) of printed media outlets.[74]

Attacks and threats against journalists

Ukraine was one of the most dangerous places for journalists in the world during the euromaidan demonstrations and the war in Donbass. A May 2014 report from the OSCE found approximately 300 instances of perceived violent attacks on the media in Ukraine since November 2013.[63] 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 112 Ukraine.[6]

Amnesty International has appealed for the release of Ukrainian journalist Ruslan Kotsaba and declared him a prisoner of conscience.[nb 3]

Timeline of reporters killed in Ukraine

Under former President Leonid Kuchma opposition papers were closed and several journalists died in mysterious circumstances.[76]

Year Date Event
1995 April Volodymyr Ivanov of Slava Sevastopolya, in Sevastopol [77]
1996 May Ihor Hrushetsky in Cherkasy[77]
1997 13 March Petro Shevchenko, correspondent for the daily Kyivskiye Vedomosti in Luhansk, Ukraine, is found hanging in an abandoned building in Kiev. He had co-authored articles about disputes between the mayor of Luhansk and the local branch of the Ukrainian Security Services.[78]
11 August Borys Derevyanko, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian newspaper, Verchernaya Odessa, shot twice and killed while on the way to an editorial board meeting at his office.[78]
1999 16 May Ihor Bondar director of the AMT television station, was shot and killed in the an Odessa residential neighbourhood, as he was driving in a car with Boris Vikhrov, the Odessa court's presiding judge. The magistrate was also killed in the attack. This double murder was carried out by men with Kalashnikov-style automatic weapons riding in a car.[78]
2000 16 September Georgiy Gongadze co-founded a news website, Ukrayinska Pravda, killed in the Taraschanskyi Raion (district) after being kidnapped.
2001 24 June Oleh Breus publisher of the regional weekly, XXI Vek, was shot dead by two gunmen outside his home in Luhansk. He was shot in the head and back at point blank range as he was getting out of his car. The motive for the murder remains unknown, although colleagues at XXI Vek said they had received threats in recent months. Breus himself narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in December 2000.[78]
7 July Ihor Oleksandrov, director of the private TV and radio station TOR in Sloviansk, died of injuries sustained on 3 July, when four unidentified men wielding baseball bats attacked him at his office. Local media suggested that Oleksandrov's death was linked to his investigations into corruption and organised crime.[78][79] Four former policemen were sentenced to 7-13 years imprisonment for fraud during the criminal case involving Oleksandrov in March 2012.[80]
2002 27 November Mykhailo Kolomiets, co-founder of Ukrainian News Agency found dead hanging on a tree in Belarus.[81]
2003 14 December Volodymyr Karachevtsev, 47, deputy editor-in-chief of Kuryer newspaper, was found dead in his home in Melitopol]. He was discovered hanging from the handle of his refrigerator. Karachevtsev was also chairman of the regional independent union of journalists and a correspondent for the online publication, Vlasti.net. Police did not rule out the possibility of murder.[78]
2004 3 March Yuriy Chechyk, director of Radio Yuta in Poltava, died under suspicious circumstances in a car crash. He was on the way to meet with executives of Radio Liberty's Ukrainian Service, which is often critical of the Ukrainian government, to hold talks on rebroadcasting the station's programmes on the more accessible FM band.[78]
2010 August Vasyl Klymentyev, a Ukrainian investigative journalist, editor-in-chief of the newspaper Novy Stil based in Kharkiv. He went missing in August and is presumed dead. He had been investigating local corruption.[82]
2014 20 February Ihor Kostenko, a 22-year-old Ukrainian journalist from the newspaper Sportanalytic, also a geography student and contributor to the Ukrainian Wikipedia. He died during Euromaidan.[83]
2014 24 May Andrea Rocchelli, Italian photojournalist killed in unclear circumstances while covering the Siege of Sloviansk.[84] Ronchelli's Russian interpreter, Andrey Mironov, was also killed.[84] French photographer William Roguelon told Russian television that Rocchelli and Mironov were killed while trying to escape mortar fire, and that he himself was wounded in the incident.[84]
2014 17 June Igor Kornelyuk, Russian reporter died in hospital of wounds. According to a spokesperson of the Lugansk People's Republic, previously he was caught in a mortar firefight staged by Ukrainian forces and his fate along with Voloshin and other 15 rebels who were them was not known.[85]

Anton Voloshin, sound engineer, killed in same incident. [86]

2014 29 June Anatoly Klyan, Russian cameraman for Russia's Channel One was shot in the stomach as the bus he was riding in came under fire by Ukrainian forces near the entrance to a military base in Donetsk, according to Moscow Times. Klyan was in a bus with mothers of soldiers who reportedly wanted to negotiate with the Ukrainian troops. Klyan died shortly afterwards. Ukrainian officials promised to investigate the incident.[87]
2014 July Sergei Dolgov, editor of the Hochu v SSSR ("I want to be in the USSR") and Vestnik Priazovya ("The Azov Region Courier") newspapers, was found dead in a park in Dnipropetrovsk in early July. Relatives say his body showed signs of torture. Co-workers at the Vestnik Priazovya say that a group of armed men stormed the newspaper's office in Mariupol in mid-June and kidnapped Dolgov.[88] According to the chief of SBU in Mariupol, Serhiy Spasytel, Dolgov was detained and taken to Zaporizhia.[89]
2014 August Andrey Stenin, photojournalist for Rossiya Segodnya.[90]
2014 November Aleksandr Kuchinsky, prominent crime reporter, and his wife were murdered. [91]
2015 February Serhiy Nikolayev, photojournalist for Segodnya in Kiev, Ukraine, killed by shelling crossfire.[92]
2015 March Olga Moroz, editor of the Neteshinsky Vestnik[93]
2015 April Oles Buzina, pro-Russian journalist and writer opposed to the Ukrainian government.[94]

Internet censorship and surveillance

In December 2010 the OpenNet Initiative found little or no evidence of Internet filtering in all four areas (political, social, conflict/security, and Internet tools) for which they test.[95]

In its Freedom on the Net report covering the period May 2012 through April 2013, Freedom House 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."[96]

Access to Internet content in Ukraine remains largely unfettered. Ukraine possesses relatively liberal legislation governing the Internet and access to information. While there are no government restrictions on access to the Internet, law enforcement bodies are 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.[97]

Situation in the Russia-occupied Crimea

The media environment in Crimea was completely transformed by the February 2014 Russian occupation and annexation of the peninsula, after the ejection of Viktor Yanukovych from power in Ukraine following the euromaidan protests. Occupation 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 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 Freedom House as the worst in the European continent.[98]

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 [98]

Free access to the internet in Crimea was threatened by Russian authorities. Rostelecom laid a cable under the Kerch strait 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.[98]

Legal framework

After the annexation, occupation 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.[98]

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.[98]

NGOs, journalists' associations and citizen groups in Crimea became subject to restrictive Russian laws, including measures limiting foreign funding. Russian occupation 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.[98]

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.[98]

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.[98]

Repression of Crimean Tatar media

Crimean Tatar media were particularly targeted by Russian repression. ATR, Avdet and the QHA news agency remained among the last independent media operating in Crimea by the end of 2014.[98]

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 Kiev in February 2014. The others died in the conflict areas in the east.[6]

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.[6]

In July 2014, pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk tried to deter journalists from covering the downing of the MH370 airliner by threatening them with arbitrary detention and intimidation.[6]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ The Baltic states are the only post-Soviet statesthat Freedom House considers "free". Next to Ukraine Freedom House considers also to be "partly free" Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Georgia, Abkhazia, Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.
  2. ↑ The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) broke into the office of a Kiev-based digital newspaper “Vesti”, physically trapping reporters and ultimately shutting down the website. Vesti News's editor-in-chief Igor Guzhva wrote on his Facebook page that the news outlet had been raided by SBU. The SBU reportedly took all servers, kept staffers in a "hot corridor" and shut down the website completely. Guzhva said that the purpose of the raid was "to block our work.". “Journalists are not being let into their office," Guzhva wrote. "Those who were already inside at the moment of the raid are being kept in the building and are not allowed to use cell phones.” Guzhva said that this is the second time in just six months that the SBU has tried to "intimidate" its editors. He added that he is unsure of the reason for the raid, but suspects that it might have to do with a story the website recently published on the SBU chief's daughter.[66]
  3. ↑ On 10 February 2015, Amnesty International reported that a Ukrainian journalist, Ruslan Kotsaba, was accused and arrested by Ukrainian authorities for "treason and obstructing the military" in reaction to his statement that he would rather go to prison than be drafted by the Ukrainian Army. If found guilty he could potentially can face up to 15 year prison sentence. Amnesty International has appealed to Ukrainian authorities to free him immediately and declared Kotsaba a prisoner of conscience. Tetiana Mazur, director of Amnesty International in Ukraine stated that "the Ukrainian authorities are violating the key human right of freedom of thought, which Ukrainians stood up for on the Maidan." In response the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) declared that they have found "evidence of serious crimes" but declined to elaborate.[75]

References

  1. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2014", Reporters Without Borders, 11 May 2014
  2. 1 2 "Freedom of the Press 2010". freedomhouse.org. 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 "Freedom of the Press 2009". freedomhouse.org. 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  4. 1 2 Ukraine (Country Guide) by Sarah Johnstone and Greg Bloom, Lonely Planet, 2008, ISBN 978-1-74104-481-2 (page 39)
  5. 1 2 3 4 Freedom of the Press 2007: A Global Survey of Media Independence by Freedom House, Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7425-5582-2 (page 11/12)
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Freedom House, Ukraine 2015 Freedom of the Press report
  7. 1 2 "Ukraine". freedomhouse.org. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  8. 1 2 CIS: Press Freedom In Former Soviet Union Under Assault, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (April 28, 2006 )
  9. 1 2 3 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (March 6, 2007)
  10. 1 2 1999 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (February 23, 2000)
  11. 1 2 3 Nations in Transit 2000-2001 by Adrian Karatnycky, Alexander Motyl, and Amanda Schnetzer, Transaction Publishers, 2001, ISBN 978-0-7658-0897-4 (page 397)
  12. ↑ "Freedom of the Press 2003". freedomhouse.org. 2003. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2009". rsf.org. 2009. Archived from the original on 22 October 2009.
  14. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2008". rsf.org. 2008. Archived from the original on 7 June 2009.
  15. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2002". rsf.org. October 2002. Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  16. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2004". rsf.org. 2004. Archived from the original on 5 September 2009.
  17. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2010". rsf.org. 2010. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  18. ↑ "Press Freedom Index 2013" (PDF). Reporters Without Borders. 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  19. ↑ "Ukraine takes 127th place in rating of freedom of speech". Ukraine Today. 12 January 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  20. ↑ "Half of all Ukrainians consider current freedom of speech level sufficient". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 15 October 2009. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
  21. ↑ Poll: More than half of Ukrainians trust the media, Kyiv Post (December 17, 2010)
  22. ↑ Ukraine At A Crossroads (Interdisciplinary Studies on Central and Eastern Europe) (v. 1) by Andrej Lushnycky and Nicolas Hayoz, Peter Lang Publishing, 2005, ISBN 978-3-03910-468-0 (page 21)
  23. ↑ Biography of new Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, RIA Novosti (March 11, 2010)
  24. ↑ Mykola Azarov: Yanukovych's Right-Hand Man, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (March 12, 2010)
  25. 1 2 2003 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (February 25, 2004)
  26. 1 2 3 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (February 28, 2005)
  27. ↑ 2000 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (February 23, 2001)
  28. ↑ 2001 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (March 4, 2002)
  29. ↑ 2002 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (March 31, 2003)
  30. ↑ 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (March 8, 2006)
  31. ↑ [tt_news]=30800 UKRAINIAN PARTIES SCRAMBLE FOR MEDIA, FOREIGN ALLIES, AHEAD OF PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS, The Jamestown Foundation (August 17, 2005)
  32. ↑ National TV Council Claims Harder Political Pressure On Mass Media, Ukrainian News Agency (February 6, 2009)
  33. ↑ "Local newspaper editor badly injured in assault". Reporters Without Borders. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  34. ↑ "Disturbing deterioration in press freedom situation since new president took over". Reporters Without Borders. 15 April 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  35. ↑ Media crackdown under way?, Kyiv Post (April 22, 2010)
  36. ↑ "Ukraine: Events of 2006". Human Rights Watch. 2007. Archived from the original on 16 January 2007.
  37. ↑ "Ukraine: Events of 2008". Human Rights Watch. Retrieved 3 October 2015.
  38. 1 2 3 4 5 2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (March 11, 2010)
  39. 1 2 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Ukraine, US Department of State (February 25, 2009)
  40. ↑ Local newspaper editor badly injured in assault, Reporters Without Borders (March 31, 2010)
  41. ↑ Disturbing deterioration in press freedom situation since new president took over, Reporters Without Borders (April 15, 2010)
  42. ↑ Media crackdown under way?, Kyiv Post (April 22, 2010)
  43. ↑ "Ukraine: Events of 2006". hrw.org. 2007. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007.
  44. ↑ "Ukraine:Events of 2008". hrw.org. 2009. Archived from the original on 17 January 2009.
  45. 1 2 Concerns Mount About Press Freedom In Ukraine As Journalist Attacked, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (September 21, 2010)
  46. ↑ More women than men support Tymoshenko, poll shows, Kyiv Post (December 7, 2009)
  47. ↑ Tymoshenko accuses central TV channels of manipulating people's consciousness in favor of oligarchs, Kyiv Post (December 8, 2009)
  48. ↑ Inter TV Channel Denies Businessman Firtash's Being Among Shareholders Of Company, Ukrainian News Agency (January 23, 2009)
  49. 1 2 "1+1 TV journalists claim censorship of news reports]". Kyiv Post. 6 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-11-14.
  50. ↑ "STB TV channel journalists claim imposing of censorship on STB". Kyiv Post. 8 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-05-11.
  51. ↑ "European journalists call on Ukrainian authorities, media owners to respect press freedom". Kyiv Post. Interfax-Ukraine. 11 May 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-11-11.
  52. ↑ Anthony Mills (11 August 2010). "International Press Institute: Ukraine's press freedom environment has deteriorated 'significantly'". Kyiv Post. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23.
  53. ↑ Journalists, in defensive crouch, swing news coverage to Yanukovych’s favor, Kyiv Post (May 6, 2009)
  54. ↑ Semynozhenko: No examples of censorship on Ukrainian TV channels, Kyiv Post (May 13, 2009)
  55. 1 2 Opposition benefiting from topic of censorship at mass media, says Hanna Herman, Kyiv Post (May 13, 2009)
  56. ↑ (Ukrainian) Янукович: Україна готова, якщо Європа готова, BBC Ukrainian (May 10, 2010)
  57. ↑ Special committee calls to check reports of pressure on journalists, Kyiv Post (May 13, 2009)
  58. ↑ Parliament bans forced removal of state and municipal mass media offices, Kyiv Post (May 21, 2009)
  59. ↑ International Press Institute: Ukraine's press freedom environment has deteriorated 'signficiantly', Kyiv Post (August 11, 2010)
  60. ↑ European rapporteurs note media setback in Ukraine, Kyiv Post (October 6, 2010)
  61. ↑ "A Ukrainian Explains 10 Things The West Needs To Know About The Situation In Kiev: #5 People find it hard to uncover the truth", Taras Ilkiv, Business Insider, 24 January 2014. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  62. 1 2 "Ukraine media freedom under attack: OSCE". Reuters. May 23, 2014.
  63. 1 2 3 "Crackdown in Ukraine sullies its democratic aspirations". The Christian Science Monitor. September 21, 2014.
  64. ↑ "Ukraine bans Russian TV channels for airing war 'propaganda' ", Natalia Zinets, Reuters, 19 August 2014.
  65. ↑ "Ukraine Security Services Break Into Newspaper Office, Shut Down Website". Huff Post Media. November 9, 2014.
  66. ↑ "Міністр інформаційної політики України" (Press release). Supreme Council of Ukraine. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  67. 1 2 Rada supports coalition-proposed government lineup, Interfax-Ukraine (2 December 2014)
    Rada approves new Cabinet with three foreigners, Kyiv Post (2 December 2014)
    (Ukrainian) Rada voted the new Cabinet, Ukrayinska Pravda (2 December 2014)
  68. ↑ Ukraine must establish Information Policy Ministry , National Radio Company of Ukraine (2 December 2014)
  69. ↑ Poroshenko: Information Ministry's main task is to repel information attacks against Ukraine, Interfax-Ukraine (8 December 2014)
  70. ↑ "Ukraine bans journalists who 'threaten national interests' from country". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  71. ↑ "Ukraine bans dozens of foreign journalists as 'threats to national security". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
  72. ↑ "Ukraine removes BBC journalists from banned list". Bbc.com. 17 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  73. ↑ Ukrainian state authorities can not be founders, cofounders of printed media from now on, Interfax Ukraine (24 November 2015)
  74. ↑ Shaun Walker (11 February 2015). "Ukraine: draft dodgers face jail as Kiev struggles to find new fighters". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
  75. ↑ "Ukraine country profile: Media". bbc.co.uk. 26 April 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  76. 1 2 "UKRAINE: CPJ urges vigorous investigations, reforms". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
  77. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Journalist killed, independent media harassed". International Press Institute. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
  78. ↑ "UKRAINE: Suspect charged with journalist's murder acquitted". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 2006-07-05.
  79. ↑ (Ukrainian) Фальсифікаторам справи про вбивство журналіста дали до 13 років, Ukrayinska Pravda (23 March 2012)
  80. ↑ IPI concerned about death of independent news agency's director, International Press Institute (27 November 2002)
  81. ↑ Missing, presumed dead: disappearance of Ukrainian journalist deepens media fears, Guardian
  82. ↑ "In memoriam of Ihor Kostenko". Wikimedia Ukraine. 23 February 2014. (Ukrainian)
  83. 1 2 3 "Italian journalist Andrea Ronchelli killed in Ukraine". The Guardian. 2014-05-25. Retrieved 2014-05-29.
  84. ↑ "Russian reporter 'dies of wounds' in east Ukraine". Yahoo! News UK. 2014-06-17. Retrieved 2014-06-17.
  85. ↑ http://www.svoboda.org/content/article/25425897.html
  86. ↑ "Anatoly Klyan death: Russian cameraman fatally shot in Ukraine 'by government forces'". The Independent. 2014-06-30. Retrieved 2014-06-29.
  87. ↑ "Editor of Russian-Language Newspaper Tortured and Killed in Eastern Ukraine". The Moscow Times. 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-20.
  88. ↑ Chief editor of newspaper "Khochu v SSSR" was detained. The Ukrainian Week. 23 June 2014
  89. ↑ Pavlova, S., Nazarets, Ye. Andrei Stenin: confirmed tragedy. Radio Liberty. 3 September 2014
  90. ↑ Obozrevatel, На Донбассе убили журналиста. Вместе с женой [Journalist killed in Donbas. Together with his wife], 29 November 2014.
  91. ↑ "Ukrainian photographer killed in fighting". the Guardian.
  92. ↑ "Dead Newspaper Editor Latest Addition to String of Mysterious Deaths in Ukraine". Russia Insider. 16 March 2015. Retrieved 17 April 2015.
  93. ↑ Prominent Pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist killed in Kiev
  94. ↑ "ONI Country Profile: Ukraine", OpenNet Initiative, 21 December 2010
  95. ↑ "Ukraine", Freedom on the Net 2013, Freedom House, 30 September 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2014.
  96. ↑ "Ukraine", 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.
  97. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Freedom House, Crimea 2015 Press Freedom report

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