The media called for Nataliya Humenyuk to be replaced as the spokeswoman of the Southern Defense Forces

Ukrainian media persons appealed to the high military command of Ukraine with a request to replace Natalya Gumenyuk, who is currently the head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces of the South.

The statement was published on April 16 on the website of the Institute of Mass Information.

This statement was addressed to the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Rustem Umyerov, and the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Anatoly Bargylevych.

Media officials accused Humenyuk of prohibiting coverage of Russian war crimes in the area of responsibility of military personnel.

"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. Journalists managed to document Russiaʼs war crimes, mostly bypassing the restrictions established in the area under Ms. Humenyuk, and not with her assistance," the statement reads.

The most egregious case in the statement is the ban on entering Kherson region in flooded towns and villages on the day of the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP — then the world media were flooded with references to the testimony of Russian "military personnel", because there was almost no information from Ukrainian journalists.

Media workers also demand to ensure access of journalists to the districts of the Kherson region and neighboring regions, where key events are taking place, taking into account the requirements of Order No. 73 of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In addition, media representatives demand a revision of the existing rules of operation of the press centers of OC "South" and of the newly created "Tavria".

Signatures to the statement can be added via the link. At the time of publication of the news, it was signed by more than a hundred journalists and mass media.