Ukraine - February 2024

Journalistic investigations revealed that the State Security Service (SBU) has been surveilling investigative reporters from Bihus.info, Nashi Hroshi, Ukrainska Pravda and others, as well as leaking surveilled material online and harassing and disparaging staff via fake news websites and anonymous Telegram channels.  Following the revelations, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed the implicated head of the unit of the SBU, while Justice Minister Denys Maliuska said closer governmental oversight of the agency was necessary.  After Ukrainian journalists revealed SBU agents were responsible, the news was met with widespread condemnation and calls for swift action from domestic and international media watchdogs. President Zelenskyy responded that “any pressure on journalists is unacceptable”, and prosecutors have opened an investigation. 

Sources: Kyiv Independent (1), Kyiv Independent (2), Reporters Without Borders