On 27 February 2026, Realna Gazeta editor-in-chief Andriy Dikhtiarenko reported that he had been targeted with public accusations made by Yurii Sniehyriov, a public figure who presents himself as a ‘military expert’.
According to Ukraine’s Institute of Mass Information (IMI), a media monitoring group, Sniehyriov suggested that Dikhtiarenko had communicated with representatives of the self-proclaimed “Luhansk People’s Republic” at the beginning of Russia’s military activities in Ukraine in 2014, when Dikhtiarenko was supposedly working as a spokesperson for the head of the Luhansk regional administration.
Dikhtiarenko denied the accusations, stating that he did not hold the position of spokesperson at the time of the events described and rejected the claims as false.
According to Realna Gazeta, the allegations were publicly disseminated and targeted both Dikhtiarenko’s professional reputation and the outlet. The editor-in-chief is also a presenter at Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne. Realna Gazeta is a media outlet covering issues related to eastern Ukraine.