Nataliya Gumenyuk was dismissed from the position of spokeswoman of the Southern Defense Forces. The media community exploded with favorable reviews, and Humenyuk herself commented on the situation philosophically.
After numerous complaints from journalists, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine decided to dismiss Nataliya Gumenyuk from the post of head of the Strategic Communications Center of the Southern Defense Forces. This happened following a number of Ukrainian and foreign media persons accused Humenyuk of incompetence and groundless obstruction of media work.
Read regarding the details of the scandalous dismissal and the Network’s reaction in the material of TSN.ua.
Why did journalists oppose Humenyuk
Thus, on April 16, a number of media persons called on the leadership of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Ministry of Defense to fire the spokeswoman of the Southern Defense Forces Nataliya Humenyuk. The relevant statement was sent, in particular, to the head of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Minister of Defense Rustem Umyerov and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Anatoliy Bargylevych and published it on “Detektor.media”.
Journalists note that Ukrainians and the world see how the Ukrainian military defends Chasiv Yar and how the Russians destroy it, how the Ukrainian military holds Kupyansk and the surrounding villages, while the Russians try to destroy them. But little attention is paid to the no less destructive attacks by the Russian Federation on Kherson and Beryslav.
“Why is it more interesting for journalists to cover the battles for those cities and not the events in Kherson region? Because there is no Natalya Humenyuk in the east, but there is in the south. We see the faces of the defenders of Donetsk region, Luhansk region, Kharkiv region, Zaporizhzhia, but we do not see the faces of the defenders of Kherson region. In the Kherson region, we see only Ms. Humenyuk,” the statement reads.
Media officials admit that the press succeeded in documenting Russia’s war crimes mostly by circumventing the restrictions established in the area under Humenyuk’s command, and not with her assistance. The most egregious case, the media say, is the ban on entry to the Kherson region, to the flooded towns and villages on the day of the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP.
Footage from Kakhovskaya HPP 21 days following the terrorist attack / Screenshot
“At that time, the world mass media were flooded with references to the testimony of Russian “military personnel”, because there was almost no information from us,” the journalists complain.
According to them, Humenyuk later forbade recording the suffering of Ukrainians in the part of the villages where the water disappeared due to the explosion of the hydroelectric power station, and for removing the bottom of the reservoir, which had dried up.
“Before that, journalists had to drive through minefields to newly liberated villages in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions in order to tell regarding the war crimes of the Russians at the moment when the world was most curious. It was impossible to get official permission to drive to these villages legally by road through roadblocks in an adequate time,” the signatories say. .
The rescue services of the Kherson region were denied the right to take journalists with them to the liquidation of the consequences of Russian crimes in Beryslav. Antonivka, Dar’ivka and part of Kherson (Ship district and “Ostriv”) were also closed, where people also suffer from Russian shelling.
“Unlike other directions, in Kherson region there is no access to hospitals and headquarters where wounded defenders and civilians are treated,” the statement reads.
Media workers openly state that they were offered to work in the “Potemkin trenches” dozens of kilometers from the real front line and actually simulate their work.
“Of course, such an imitation is unacceptable for most media, so they choose other areas of the front where they can just do their work normally. The most popular word in the communication department of the South’s defense forces is ‘forbidden,'” the signatories note.
In their opinion, Humenyuk’s actions affect both the level of the region’s defense capability and the aid to the communities of the region from the international community. Therefore, the media called to replace Nataliya Gumenyuk “with a more competent person and to prevent her from any management of communications”, as well as to ensure access of journalists to the districts of Kherson region and neighboring regions.
How Humenyuk herself reacted to the media riot
The next day on the air “Radio Liberty” Humenyuk commented on the call of the media to remove her from the leadership of the communications department of OK “South”. According to her, the journalists “did not provide evidence regarding the specified facts”, and the press center of the Southern Defense Forces did not violate any orders of the command.
“All the measures that took place were carried out absolutely in accordance with the orders of the commanding staff… The coverage was carried out in extremely difficult conditions. What is accused of not covering the consequences of the Kakhovskaya HPP tragedy is an absolute lie. More than 800 requests were processed within one week immediately following the explosion of the Kakhovskaya HPP in a simplified manner… but taking into account the safety of operations,” Natalya Humenyuk said.
Humenyuk was dismissed by the General Staff
In the end, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces listened to the journalistic community and “carried out rotational measures once morest the head of the Strategic Communications Center of the Southern Defense Forces” Nataliya Humenyuk.
“A decision was made regarding the completion of the mission and the exclusion from the forces and assets of the relevant group of troops of Colonel Natalia Gumenyuk dated 04/19/2024. Currently, the selection of a suitable specialist is underway, who will soon become the “voice” of the Southern Defense Forces. The Strategic Communications Center of the Southern Defense Forces will work in regular mode, organizing cooperation with media representatives who have the appropriate accreditation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the General Staff reported.
Humenyuk’s reaction to the dismissal
Humenyuk herself succinctly reacted to personnel changes on her Facebook page wrote: “And the sun is still stronger than the clouds…”.
Humenyuk’s reaction to the dismissal
The Network’s reaction to Humeniuk’s dismissal
Journalists and the public responded favorably to the General Staff’s decision regarding Humenyuk. So, in particular, the BIHUS.Info journalist An Julak wrote: “Natalia Humenyuk will no longer interfere with the work of war correspondents and journalists in the South. She has been dismissed (her mission to the post has been terminated).”
The journalist thanked the General Staff, President Zelenskyi, Chief Sirskyi and the Ministry of Defense “for hearing so quickly.”
“I hope that a person who understands the role of the media in war will volunteer for this position,” she added.
In addition, the editor-in-chief of “Suspilne Donbas” Andriy Kramchenkov called the relevant decision is a victory for journalists in the south of Ukraine.
About the situation expressed and People’s Deputy Maryana Bezugla: “Colonel Humenyuk has been fired. She is the one who defended the Odesa military commissar and was rude to military correspondents. Another step towards changing the culture in the Armed Forces. And honesty.”
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