Contrary to the Constitution of Ukraine, officials from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine are introducing censorship in nature reserve institutions.
This accusation against the ministry was made by Ivan Rusev, head of the research department of the Tuzlivski Limany National Nature Park, on his Facebook page.
As proof, he published a letter sent to the national park by the Ministry of Environmental Protection. In it, the ministry asks to “ensure coordination with the Department of Public Communications and Public Relations of public comments, statements, interviews, and other statements in the media that relate to the implementation of state policy in the field of environmental protection and/or may affect public perception of the Ministry's activities.”
Source: facebook.com/ivan.rusev.215723.
“According to the actual instructions, as an employee of the PZF Ukraine, I must coordinate with officials before commenting on any post in order to receive permission and the right to publish my opinion,” the ecologist said indignantly.
He believes that officials at the Ministry of Environment do not want real professionals and specialists in nature conservation to comment on “not always professional posts by officials of the Ministry of Environment” when they openly lobby for hunting or do not respond to “obvious and blatant” violations of environmental legislation.
What guided the ministry
The Ministry of Environment refers to two documents:
- Regulations on the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine, approved on June 25, 2020;
- Regulations on the Department of Public Communications and Public Relations of the Ministry of Environment, approved on February 21, 2025.
The first document is available on the website of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. There is no mention of control over communications with the public regarding institutions subordinate to the ministry.
EcoPolitic has not yet found the second document in the public domain. The Ministry of Environmental Protection website only contains a list of the “main functions” of the public communications department. These do not include “control over the implementation of communication measures and monitoring of the information content of websites of enterprises, institutions, and organizations under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Environment.”
We sent a request to the ministry asking for the Regulations on the Department of Public Communications and Public Relations of the ministry.
Are the Ministry of Environment's requirements legitimate?
As journalists, we cannot give a legal assessment of such actions by the ministry — this should be done by professional lawyers. It is currently unclear whether publications on the personal pages of employees of environmental protection agencies can be considered “communication activities” and which manifestations of their public activity fall under the requirements of officials.
There are no questions regarding the monitoring of the information content of the websites of institutions subordinate to the ministry—this is indeed their area of influence.
Recently, EcoPolitic reported that activists accused the Ministry of Environment of inaction in protecting the picturesque Svidovets mountain range in the Carpathians.
