KIEV, Oct. 20 - Seven months after election of Viktor Yanyukovych to the presidency, Ukraine plunged dramatically in the international press freedom ranking, underscoring a serious deterioration of freedom of speech.

Ukraine plummeted to the rank of 131 among 178 countries surveyed for the 2010 World Press Freedom Index, released on Wednesday by the Reporters Without Borders, the Paris-based international media watchdog.

This is one of the most steep deteriorations among the countries surveyed in 2010 as Ukraine has been specifically mentioned under the ‘Heavy Falls’ category by the Reporters Without Borders. Ukraine ranked 89th in 2009.

“Our latest world press freedom index highlights somber realities and confirms certain trends,” Jean-François Julliard, the secretary-general at the Reporters Without Borders, said in a statement.

The watchdog highlighted Ukraine for “the slow and steady deterioration in press freedom since Viktor Yanukovych’s election as president in February.”