On 12 April 2023, journalist Iryna Rohova from Kolos, a local newspaper in Talne, Central Ukraine, accused Oleksandr Duboviy, the deputy head of the Zvenihorodskiy district (in which Talne is located) of censoring Kolos articles critical of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UPC MP), a major religious group with links to Russia. Rohova claimed that Kolos planned to publish a letter written by a former speaker of the local district council, Anatoly Kravchuk, in which the politician criticized actions by two top figures within UPC MP. However, Duboviy forbade the publication of this letter, using powers attributed to him under martial law regulations in Ukraine, which foresee the control of district-level newspapers by district administrations for content potentially endangering local and national security. According to Rohova, Duboviy had previously already forbade an article on the decision by a church in the region to leave UPC MP and join the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, a competing major religious group not affiliated with Russia. In his decisions to censor the articles, Duboviy allegedly claimed that the texts would have “incited religious enmity”.
Speaking to Ukrinform, the Ukrainian national press agency, Duboviy acknowledged having banned the articles, but claimed to have acted within current Ukrainian legal norms, adding that the head of the Zvenihorodskiy district, Yuri Pikovskiy, had the same opinion as him on the case. Pikovskiy, however, denied this, saying that his Duboviy “was bluffing”, that some decisions were consulted with him, while others were not, and adding that he “was aware” of Duboviy’s position regarding UPC MP.
No information was available on possible police or court proceedings linked to the case.