The Sunday Show: Savchenko’s Arrest, Kyiv Post’s Sale, Fighting Fake News

✅ Ukrainian MP Nadiya Savchenko Gets Arrested

Two years ago Nadiya Savchenko was a war hero, returning to Ukraine after spending two years in Russian prison. Today she stands accused of numerous crimes, including attempting to overthrow Ukraine’s constitutional order, threatening the life of Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and plotting a terrorist attack. The Prosecutor General’s Office claims that Savchenko conspired with several others, including the head of the Officer’s Corps's Volodymyr Ruban and several officers from the 8th Regiment of the Special Operations Forces of the Ukrainian army. Hromadske spoke to Anton Pechenkin, a political analystand Maria Tomak, a human right activist, about Savchenko’s future.

Anton Pechenkin,

Political analyst

Maria Tomak

Coordinator, Media Initiative for Human Rights

✅ Top Ukrainian English-Language Newspaper Kyiv Post Sold

Ukraine's largest independent English-language newspaper, the Kyiv Post, has been sold to Odesa multi-millionaire and Syria native Adnan Kivan. Kivan, who bought the paper for significantly more than the $3.5 million asking price from billionaire Mohammad Zahoor will become Kyiv Post's third owner in the publication's 22 years. But the Syrian native, whose assets include a construction company and a TV station in Odesa, is a controversial figure in Ukraine. The businessman has been linked with political figures such as Odesa Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, who is suspected of embezzlement. Despite assurances from Kivan, it’s now uncertain whether Kyiv Post will be able retain its editorial independence. Hromadske spoke to Kyiv Post’s editor-in-chief Brian Bonner about what the future holds for the publication.

Brian Bonner

Editor-in-chief, Kyiv Post

✅ Keeping The Speech Free in the Fake News Era

The Ukrainian media market is heavily dominated by oligarch owned media, while independent outlets are accused of being counterproductive to reforms when they become critical of the government. Ukraine has become the target for Russian fake news, where information warfare is constantly practised. But neither Russian propaganda, nor the war against Ukraine, should be used as an excuse to put pressure on the country's media. Hromadske spoke with Harlem Désir, an OSCE representative for freedom of media, about how to deal with propaganda and fake news without sacrificing freedom of speech.

Harlem Désir

Representative on Freedom of the Media, OSCE

✅ Russian Journalist Bares All

In what has been described as a landslide victory, President Vladimir Putin has secured another six years as Russia's leader. The predetermined election has drawn criticism from Europe and West but is there any hope for change on the horizon?

Russian political journalist Mikhail Zygar is a close acquaintance of the former opposition candidate Ksenia Sobchak and anti-corruption activist Alexey Navalny, who was banned from running in the election. Zygar says opposition figures take different approaches to changing the system. While one is calling for people to boycott the election, the other is encouraging the public to embrace the system. Are either of these strategies efficient? Hromadske’s Nataliya Gumenyuk caught up with Zygar to discuss Russia’s political system and its future.

Mikhail Zygar

Russian political journalist

✅ Inside the Defunct Roshen Factory in Russia

President Petro Poroshenko’s confectionary factory closed down in the western Russian town of Lipetsk in 2017. The Ukrainian leader faced heavy criticism for paying taxes in the country that’s at war with Ukraine. But in the end, the Russian state arrested the accounts of the enterprise, accusing it of fraud. When the factory closed down, 700 people lost their jobs in result.

Hromadske travelled to the factory in Lipetsk, a pace everyone knows of but few people had seen.