KYIV, Nov 8 – Ukraine’s English-language newspaper Kyiv Post was shut down indefinitely on Monday amid reports of rising political pressure from the office of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, journalists and media sources said.

The development sent shockwaves through the Ukrainian media community as it’s the first time in more than 20 years that a major reputable publication was forced to close due to outside interference.

“The Kyiv Post has been killed,” Anastasia Lapatina, a Kyiv Post journalist, tweeted on Monday. “Our entire team was fired today.”

Kyiv Post owner Adnan Kivan, a large real estate developer in Odesa, issued a statement on Monday announcing the newspaper will close immediately, but provided no explanation for the shutdown.

Sevgil Musaieva, the chief editor at Ukrayinska Pravda, an independent Ukrainian-language online publication, said the presidential office has been putting mounting pressure on the newspaper for the past several weeks.

“Unofficially, the problems in the editorial office began a few weeks ago. And as far as I know, they relate to the pressure on Kivan by the President's Office,” Musaieva wrote on her Facebook page.

Serhiy Nykyforov, Zelenskiy’s spokesman, said he was “unpleasantly surprised” at the allegations.

“We are genuinely and unpleasantly surprised at how certain politicians and media outlets have come to blame the President's Office or even him personally,” Nykyforov wrote on his Facebook page.

Kyiv Post has reported on several sensitive issues that may have led to the reaction from the presidential office. These include allegations that Zelenskiy may have used offshore accounts to hide income from taxation, the role of Zelenskiy’s office in a failed attempt to capture Russian war crime suspects and the government’s anti-reform measures.

“Someone probably didn't like it very much, and the owner was made clear of that,” Musaieva said.

The troubling developments come amid intensifying efforts by Zelenskiy’s office to reach global audiences, including international media outlets, with targeted positive news and commentaries about the government’s work in Ukraine.

“We are changing and reforming the country, but that is not enough. Every such change needs to be talked about. So that it is clear what, when, for what purpose and for whom we do,” Zelenskiy tweeted on November 4.

Ukraine has been recently getting negative press in western media due to delayed economic reforms and the government’s failing efforts to restart the economy after COVID-19 lockdown, and most recently, due to the failure to accumulate enough natural gas and coal for the winter that may lead to a severe energy crisis.

“It is more than outrageous ......it is a crime,” George Woloshyn, a Kyiv Post subscriber, wrote on Monday reacting to the newspaper’s shutdown. “There is no greater enemy to tyranny and oppression than free press.” (tl/ez)