Zelenskyy's adviser forbids officials to communicate with Ukrainska Pravda journalists

Dmytro Lytvyn, president’s adviser on communications, has been covertly imposing prohibitions for officials to communicate with journalists of Ukrainska Pravda. 

Source: New people in the old Office. Who does what on Bankova St., an article by Ukrainska Pravda

Quote: "As it is discovered by Ukrainska Pravda, Lytvyn is the individual who imposes a restriction down the power vertical, prohibiting officials and security officials to interact with Ukrainska Pravda in order to give it information or allow to attend interviews and events.

It is Lytvyn who, since recently, keeps sacking UP from the list of publications invited to meetings with the president. It is he who shouts at people who ignore these prohibitions."

Details: Lytvyn is a former journalist and political analyst. He already knew Zelenskyy during the filming of Servant of the People (a widely popular TV show filmed and released in Ukraine before Zelenskyy ran for president; Zelenskyy himself played the main part – ed.), and he joined Bankova's media team more than a year before the Russian invasion. He was involved in producing "temnyky" for Servant of the People party officials (temnyky, or "theme lists," are the directives outlining the issues to be covered in news reports and providing instructions on how these issues are to be highlighted).

After the full-scale Russian invasion began, Lytvyn was the sole member of the technical media team who was physically present and could record theses for the president's speeches.

So he ended up at the presidential bunker, spent the most difficult first few days of the Russian invasion with the president, and departed the bunker as Zelenskyy’s chief speechwriter.

Over time, the President’s Office major media workers, Yurii Kostiuk and Kyrylo Tymoshenko, left the team one by one, and Lytvyn's influence grew.

In early September, the president introduced Lytvyn as his official communications adviser.

The adviser's actions show signs of a crime under several articles of the Ukrainian Criminal Code: Article 171 (obstruction of journalists' legitimate professional activities), Article 353 (unauthorised assignment of power), possibly Article 364 (abuse of power or official position), and Article 344 (interference with the activities of a statesman).

Background: On 9 October, Ukrainska Pravda reported on systemic pressure from the Presidential Office. We are specifically pointing out the acts of restricting officials from communication with Ukrainska Pravda journalists and participation in events, as well as putting pressure on businesses to discontinue advertising with Ukrainska Pravda.

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