Journalists vs corruption in war‑torn Ukraine
Authorities employ various methods to intimidate journalists, such as threatening to dispatch them to the front lines, according to Yuriy Nikolov, the co-founder of the Ukrainian investigative journalism project Naszi Hroszi, in a conversation published on Tuesday with politico.eu.
9 May 2024 08:23
Naszi Hroszi focuses on unearthing corruption cases. Politico.eu highlighted that while the extent of corruption in Ukraine has diminished over the recent years, it remains a significant issue.
I have been carrying out investigations for 15 years before the conflict, and it has always been difficult and fraught with risk. However, I believe the situation for journalists has now deteriorated, Yuriy Nikolov expressed.
The war in Ukraine: Exposing corruption within the military
His team uncovered a corruption scandal in the Ukrainian military involving the procurement of overpriced food. The Naszi Hroszi project discovered that food prices were marked up more than threefold. Subsequent independent investigations by Ukrainian journalists also revealed other corrupt practices, such as bribery within medical commissions.
Following the exposure of the food pricing scandal, among other revelations, Oleksiy Reznikov, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, stepped down in September 2023. However, after these exposures, Yuriy Nikolov faced repeated threats on social media, which escalated to an attempt on his safety when, in January 2024, two masked individuals attempted to force entry into his apartment, accusing him of hostility towards Ukraine.
Naszi Hroszi is not alone in its efforts to shed light on corruption in Ukraine, nor is it the sole project facing attempts to intimidate its journalists. In October 2023, Yulia Mostova, the editor-in-chief of zn.ua, which also reports on corruption, disclosed that Volodymyr Zelensky had instructed journalists to "remain silent until victory" and refrain from exposing further irregularities until the Russian forces are repelled.
In January 2023, a video surfaced on YouTube depicting journalists from bihus.Info – a platform known for its corruption exposes – consuming alcohol and drugs, as reported by politico.eu.
Following these revelations, Denys Bihus, the editor-in-chief, terminated the journalists' employment in the scandal. However, he was primarily concerned with how these incriminating recordings were acquired. He accused the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) of surveilling its journalists, an accusation confirmed by the head of the service, General Vasyl Maluk.
The Ukrainian authorities express regret. Journalists remain sceptical
In an attempt to address the issue, the head of the SBU issued an apology, and the President of Ukraine assured that any form of pressure on journalists is unacceptable. Despite these assurances, Yuriy Nikolov remains unconvinced that there has been any substantial change.
"You can be a patriot and still wish for Ukraine's victory in this war while being a journalist," Naszi Hroszi's editor-in-chief explained during his conversation with politico.eu.
He stressed that the primary objective of media professionals should be to disclose the truth irrespective of the circumstances. “Journalists should recognise their duty. Honesty and integrity in journalism do not undermine Ukraine,” he remarked.
“I wish we could allocate more resources to our air defence systems and armament for our troops – that's where the investments should be directed, not into lining people's pockets,” he concluded.
