On 28 January 2025, Ukraine’s domestic security service (SBU) opened a criminal investigation for “disclosure of state secrets” against independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda, after the outlet published statements by Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, at a closed-door parliamentary meeting.
According to an unnamed source cited in the report, Budanov said that unless serious negotiations on ending Russia’s full-scale invasion are held by the summer, “dangerous processes could unfold, threatening Ukraine’s very existence.” Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence later denied the quote.
While the penalty for disclosing state secrets is up to eight years imprisonment, it was unclear whether the investigation targeted specific journalists at Ukrainska Pravda.
“We act within the law and strictly adhere to professional standards of journalism. Ukrainska Pravda, as always, stands by its sources of information, which is guaranteed by the current legislation of Ukraine and international law,” Ukainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musayeva said in a statement published on January 31.