Yuriy Rabotin Accused of Journalist Data Breach, Files Lawsuit in Odesa

The head of the board of the Odesa regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Yuriy Rabotin, was accused of "merging" these journalists. He made a public statement in response.

This is stated in the letter.

According to him, the "evidence" provided is just screenshots that have no legal force. He considers the situation to be a social experiment that showed that part of the media community was not ready to act within the framework of professional and legal norms.

Photo: Screenshot of the letter

He divides journalists into those who inform the public in good faith and those who work in the style of the "yellow press", pursuing sensations without checking the facts.

Rabotin emphasized that he does not intend to make excuses and has already filed a lawsuit to put an end to the conflict. In the document, he does not name specific individuals, but insists that there should be legal consequences for spreading false information.

"My lawsuit is not only a defense of my honor and business reputation, but also an attempt to stop the dangerous practice of manipulating public opinion under the guise of 'hot' news," he summarized.

Earlier , Odesa media workers called on the head of the Odesa branch of the National Union of Journalists, Yuriy Rabotin, to resign and accused him of passing their personal data to Oleg Maltsev, who is accused of creating a combat group to overthrow the government.

Yuriy Rabotin himself told Intent that he would not comment on the open letter for now.

"I need to understand the situation first, and then comment on it," he explained.

Yuriy Rabotin is an honored journalist of Ukraine, member of the National Union of Writers of Ukraine, author of books of poetry and prose, and winner of several literary awards. However, the Myrotvorets website calls him a separatist and one of the organizers of pro-Russian demonstrations in Odesa.

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine also expressed its position. They reported that they were "concerned about the information about the conflict situation" and condemned the "dissemination of personal data."

In September 2024, the military counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Bureau of Investigation neutralized the operational and combat group of the Russian military intelligence in Odesa. More than 70 firearms with optical sights and ammunition, as well as body armor, helmets, ballistic goggles and other tactical equipment were seized from them. In the event of the capture of Odesa, the group members were promised positions in the local occupation administration of the Russian Federation.

The SBU did not disclose the names of the detainees, but a number of media outlets reported that it was Oleg Maltsev, who was accused in the media several years ago of creating a sect and harassing journalists. The journalists signed a reminder about the harassment and the sect and sent it to law enforcement. According to the journalists' statements, Yuriy Rabotin received these documents with the personal data of the media workers and handed them over to Maltsev's lawyer.

It should be noted that this is not the first scandal around the Odesa NUJU. In April 2021, the Institute of Mass Information reported that the Odesa regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine had issued membership cards to unauthorized persons with questionable relation to journalism. A video of the signed documents lying on the desk of the head of the Odesa organization of the NUJU, Yuriy Rabotin, was posted on the Facebook page of the Kherson Newspaper New.

Subsequently, the Odesa regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine canceled its decision to admit these people to its ranks.

Ірина Глухова