Kyiv Post media shut down raises questions of press independence

Ukraine’s oldest English-language media outlet, Kyiv
Post, was closed on Nov. 8 by its owner, Adnan Kivan. The closure is
short-term, according to a press release issued by the outlet on the same day,
to facilitate its transformation into a multilingual news source.

The editorial staff were summarily dismissed, leading
to their publication of a statement on Nov. 8 claiming that Kivan was wresting
editorial control from Editor-in-Chief Brian Bonner and his team. Kivan had
recently tried to install a Ukrainian-language editor without vetting by
Bonner.

Ukrayinska Pravda Editor-in-Chief Sevgil Musaieva
claimed on Nov. 8 that Kivan was being pressured to curb the editorial staff by
someone from the Office of the President. Presidential spokesman Sergiy
Nikiforov responded the same day that such allegations are groundless, stating
that the news of Kyiv Post’s closure was for the Office “the same surprise as
for the rest.”

The closure elicited reactions from western embassies,
for whom the media was a main source of information about Ukraine. EU
ambassador Matti Maasikas stated that Kyiv Post is “something Ukraine now risks
losing, with consequences.”

James Hydzik: Is it a
business owner doing what he sees fit with this holding, or political pressure?
The internal strife is a given, as Bonner’s fierce independence was well
documented long before Kivan took ownership in 2018. And the staff’s vicious
reaction to the 2011 firing of Bonner by previous Kyiv Post owner Mohammad
Zahoor would likely be repeated, so letting the axe fall without warning is not
a surprise. There will be no redux – the latest word is that Bonner is
retiring.

However, the allegations by Musayeva are not just bad
optics for the Presidential Office. Halya Coynash, writing for Kharkiv Human
Rights Protection Group on Nov. 9, points to accusations in October of pressure
upon Ukraine’s national broadcaster coming from the head of the Office, Andriy
Yermak, made by presenter Myroslava Barchuk.

These accusations, combined with those coming from
Fifth Channel, that Zelensky’s team is trying to split the media from the
politicians who can protect them against governmental pressure, do not ease
suspicions.

Whatever the reason for Kivan’s moves, Kyiv Post’s
Bonner-era demise, in an environment of increasing complaints of political
pressure, may have done a final service for the expat and diplomatic
communities by bringing to light a problem that the Zelensky administration
simply must address.