Chief Editor of Ukraine's Vesti Links Searches to Media Holding's Publications

The editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian newspaper Vesti, Oksana Omelchenko, said that law enforcement officers did not issue a court order to conduct searches in the newspaper, radio and website editorial offices and linked such actions to the critical publications of the holding, local media reported Friday.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, Vesti said that special services were conducting searches in its office in the Gulliver trade center in Kiev, and the work of the editorial office was blocked. Later, Chief Military Prosecutor of Ukraine Anatolii Matios said that law enforcers were conducting more than 180 searches in the premises located in the Gulliver, owned by former Revenues and Duties Minister Oleksandr Klymenko, including the editorial office of Radio Vesti.

"We link what is happening to our professional activities and the fact that Vesti… publishes truthful materials about the situation in the country," Omelchenko said, as quoted by Strana.ua news portal.

According to Omelchenko, law enforcers broke into the floor this morning, where the editorial offices of the Vesti radio, newspaper and website are located, with a search, without showing a relevant court order. The start of the special operation of the law enforcers was preceded by the blocking of the entire area near Sportivnaya square, where Gulliver (trade center) is located, Vesti's editor-in-chief said, arguing that the media holding's work was being hindered.

Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov assured that the actions of law enforcers were not connected with the work of journalists. Later, Matios said at a briefing law enforcers planned to detain a number of persons following searches in Klymenko's companies.