On 16 September 2024, the military administration of the Odesa region refused to provide information to NikCenter, a local news outlet from the nearby Mykolaiv region, on individuals not serving in the Ukrainian army whom the military administration nominated for state awards since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NikCenter reported.
The outlet said it had received an initial response from authorities on September 10, which contained only the initials of people nominated for state awards. Also, the Odesa regional military administration did not provide the reasons for which these nominations were made, as NikCenter had requested. Journalists at the outlet then sent a new request and received a new reply from authorities on September 16, in which the administration claimed that providing the information “could be dangerous” due to “sabotage, intelligence and other activities” conducted by Russia in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion. Identifying those who received state awards could harm Ukraine’s defense capabilities, the Odesa regional military administration said.
In a comment to NikCenter, media lawyer Yevhen Vorobyov dismissed these claims, arguing that nominees for state awards could not be identified based on their full names only, and that according to Ukrainian legislation identification is only possible if the full names are provided along with other personal information, such as ID number, address, date and place of birth.