Explanations about why Espreso was kicked off T2 are doubtful, other media outlets are at risk - Head of the National Union of Journalists

The lack of explanations as to the rationale for booting Espreso, Pryamoi (Direct) channel and Channel 5 off air means that similar decisions may be made regarding other media outlets.

The head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Serhii Tomilenko, shared his take on this with Espreso TV live on air.

"Now we are talking about the manual management of the media space and, accordingly, that your TV channels and many journalists cannot get answers as to the real reasons for this disconnection - whether it is due to censorship or because of national security. No evidence was provided for the second argument, but all these explanations cause some doubts," he said.

The head of the National Union of Journalists stated that this scenario may be repeated with other media outlets, which could find themselves restricted.

"If in this situation we are not given any proper rationale, then when the authorities accept this media reform, who's to say we won't see  hundreds of journalists and media outlets that find themselves disconnected due to conflicts arising. There may be restrictions on broadcasting for certain channels or the revocation of licenses, or certificates of registration for print media and some will be removed without any explanation," Tomilenko concluded.