Violations of freedom of speech were reported in the Odesa region

In July 2026, experts from the Institute of Mass Information documented 11 cases of violations of freedom of speech in Ukraine. Seven of them were committed by Russia; the other four were not related to Russia’s war against Ukraine.

This is reported in a study by the Institute of Mass Information.

One such case occurred in the Odesa region. The Odesa Regional Military Administration refused to provide journalists from the Mykolaiv-based investigative journalism center Nikcenter with information on the costs of constructing fortifications.

The journalists asked how much funding from the state and local budgets had been allocated to the construction of fortifications in the Odesa region throughout the entire period of full-scale war. They also sought information on the primary fund administrators, the entities commissioning the work, and the total value of the contracts awarded.

However, Nikcenter did not ask for the exact locations of the fortifications, their coordinates, technical specifications, or schematics, which could pose a security threat.

The Odesa Regional State Administration refused to provide the data, calling it “classified expenditures.” The administration stated that restricting access to the information was in the interests of national security.

Volodymyr Zelenchuk, a lawyer at the Institute of Mass Information, considers this refusal unlawful. According to him, the Odesa Regional State Administration erroneously equated funding for the construction of fortifications with expenditures for organizing and conducting resistance activities.

He also emphasized that the law requires the disclosure of certain information regarding contracts related to the construction of fortifications, specifically the name of the contracting authority, the subject of the procurement, and the contract price.

In total, IMI documented seven Russian crimes against the media and journalists in July. Among them were acts of vandalism against newsrooms and studios in Kyiv, Kramatorsk, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, and Bilopillya. In Kyiv, the premises of “Channel 5” were also damaged as a result of a Russian attack, causing the TV channel to temporarily suspend its broadcasts.

Separately, IMI documented four cases of violations of freedom of speech unrelated to the Russian war. These included legal pressure, obstruction of journalistic activities, and restrictions on access to information. Such cases occurred in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Odesa, and Rivne.

Thus, in July 2026, IMI recorded a total of 11 cases of violations of freedom of speech in Ukraine.

Андрій Колісніченко