Regional media outlet Grechka in Kropyvnytskyi, Ukraine, was forced to take down an online article about war preparations at the request of the local police. The incident was reported by the outlet’s editor-in-chief Anastasia Dzyubak, who said that the July 11 article had been written by an intern who collected information about the readiness of local universities for war-related emergencies. The editor claimed that the author of the text had gathered information from the representatives of local higher learning institutions, and that all of the information could also be found publicly on the universities’ websites, and therefore did not disclose anything that was held to be a security secret. However, on July 14 a representative of the regional office of the National Police Department ordered Dzyubak to take down the article, citing security concerns. The article was removed that day. The editor-in-chief, in a social media post detailing the incident, urged the authorities and press freedom NGOs in Ukraine to establish a clear set of guidelines on what information falls can and can not be published under the current state of martial law.
Russia-Ukraine WarCensorship and regulationPublication ban, take-down order or forced deletion, fine, administrative action