Journalists who resigned from the ZIK television channel after it came under the control of pro-Russia forces have published a statement calling on President Volodymyr Zelensky to protect the Ukrainian media from the influence of Moscow.
The July 2 statement also asks Zelensky to support Ukraine’s independent public broadcaster and ensure editorial independence. It was published just two weeks after lawmaker Taras Kozak acquired unilateral control over ZIK on June 14.
Kozak is a close ally of Ukrainian oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is a personal friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his unofficial representative in Ukraine.
The statement received support from a recently-launched media movement called Media for a Conscious Choice, as well as a number of Ukrainian civic organizations, journalists, and activists. It can be read in English translation here.
According to the document, Medvedchuk’s new influence on ZIK became obvious immediately after Kozak purchased the channel. Television shows criticizing the oligarch were taken off the air and some journalists have reported that the channel now uses a “stop list” of individuals banned from appearing on its programs.
Apart from that, the channel has started featuring multiple pro-Russian candidates like Illya Kyva and Nestor Shufrych at the same time, violating a law that requires media to provide objective information to their audience.
For this reason, the former ZIK journalists call on Zelensky to “to finally define his position on Russia’s information intervention in the Ukrainian media space and the introduction of censorship at the media outlets controlled by pro-Russian politicians.”
Apart from that, the statement also urges Zelensky and his team, as well as the new parliament that will be elected on July 21, to introduce effective mechanisms to de-monopolize television and guarantee both financial transparency and editorial independence in the media.
So far, there has been no official response from Zelensky, who is currently in Canada on his first official overseas visit.
The statement also calls upon the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting, politicians and activists to support Ukraine’s independent public broadcaster and to avoid media that are controlled by Medvedchuk. All these agencies and individuals should “control the compliance of content” on pro-Russian TV channels with Ukrainian legislation, the former ZIK journalists write.
“We call on the leadership of the state and law enforcement agencies to prevent the usage of Ukrainian TV channels for disseminating pro-Kremlin propaganda and to stop the creeping Russian occupation of the Ukrainian media space,” the statement reads.
Finally, it asks the Security Service of Ukraine to investigate whether Russia has provided financing for the purchase of media assets. So far, there has been no official reply from any authorities.
“We believe that Ukrainian journalists, regardless of their views and beliefs, will not become a tool in the hands of politicians whose goal is to eliminate Ukraine’s existence,” the statement reads.
Prior to its purchase by Kozak, ZIK was owned by the businessman Petro Dyminsky. Largely popular in the west of the country, it has at times been used as a platform for allies of former President Petro Poroshenko who have become embroiled in scandals to present their side of the story.
