In September, Dzerkalo Tyzhnya newspaper published an investigation alleging that state-owned companies belonging to the Defense Ministry traded weapons instead of suppling them to the army for use in defending the nation against the Russian-backed war in the east.
In reaction, the state company filed a lawsuit against the newspaper
and the author of the story. The newspaper published a note, allegedly
from the Presidential Administration, recommending legal punishment for
the story because it “harms the country’s defenses.” President Petro
Poroshenko said later that no such order came from him. The president,
who owns Channel 5, has repeatedly emphasized his support for freedom of
speech and independent journalism in Ukraine.
