The Pechersky District Court of Kyiv heard a lawsuit filed by journalist Svitlana Kryukova regarding accusations of pro-Russian sympathies leveled against her by the media. The court denied her request to refute the allegations, ruling that such statements constitute value judgments and do not contain facts.

This was reported by the journalist’s attorney, Oleksiy Shevchuk. According to him, the court considered Kryukova’s lawsuit against the publication “Special Correspondents” and ruled that the claim that she is a “pro-Russian journalist, collaborator, and traitor who divides society and works for the Russian Federation” is an evaluative judgment and does not contain factual data.

“The Pechersk Court, in response to the lawsuit filed by my client Svitlana Kryukova against the media outlet ‘Spetskor,’ ruled that the claim that she is ‘pro-Russian’ is evaluative in the court’s opinion, since neither the media outlet nor anyone else provided any facts to support it. Therefore, she is not pro-Russian! The court dismissed the claim for a retraction of the facts because they do not exist; consequently, one cannot be compelled to retract information that is subjective,” Shevchuk wrote on Facebook.

According to the lawyer, the court ruled that some of the information was published by reprinting from other sources, and therefore “Spetskor” can only be held liable for its own original content.

Shevchuk added that the decision has not yet become final and that he is preparing an appeal.

“Although the court found no evidence that my client has ties to the Russian Federation, I personally—along with a number of experts (whose conclusions were presented in the case)—believe that the statements are factual, not evaluative,” the lawyer stated.
As is known, the former deputy editor-in-chief of “Strana.ua,” Svetlana Kryukova demanded a retraction of the July 10, 2024, publication, which claimed that she was a “pro-Russian journalist, collaborator, and traitor who divides society and works for the Russian Federation.”

The article on the “Spetskor” website, which did not indicate the author, was based on a Facebook post and comments below it by military serviceman Roman Sinitsyn (Balan).

As reported by OBOZ.UA, on January 19, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) sanctions on propagandists working for Russia. Svitlana Kryukova was also added to the “blacklist.” Also subject to sanctions are former MP Shufrich, the leader of the banned “Nashi” party, Murayev, the leader of the banned Communist Party, Petro Symonenko, and others.

On the evening of February 13, Svitlana Kryukova’s Range Rover burned down in Kyiv.

On March 13, journalist Kryukova reported that she had filed a lawsuit with the Supreme Court of Ukraine to challenge the presidential decree imposing personal sanctions on her.