Ukraine is an outpost of the struggle for democracy in the world, and the press here cannot be "partially free" - Ukraine's MP Kniazhytskyi

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

The MP commented on the U.S. State Department's assessment of the Ukrainian press as "partially free."

"The State Department explained the reasons for this assessment. This includes the fact that the Espreso, Channel 5 and Pryamyi TV channels were completely illegally taken off the air, which the State Department directly points out, as well as the creation of a single controlled marathon. Our government was democratically elected. And the democratic election of each government is not the merit of this government, but the merit of the previous one. Unfortunately, the trends we are seeing now, including the restrictions on freedom of speech, as the U.S. State Department has said, show that the current Ukrainian government has not fully embarked on the path of normal democratic development. I believe that it will, because we are an outpost of the struggle for democracy in the world, and we cannot have a "partially free" press. We must have a free press!" the Ukrainian MP emphasized.

Mykola Knyazhytskyi noted that the free press exists to criticize both the government and the opposition, because this is how a democratic society is built. Another thing is that all these channels that have been shut down are pro-Ukrainian and patriotic, and they not only criticize but also support the steps of the government and the president.

• On March 21, the U.S. State Department published its 2022 report, which assesses Ukraine's press as "partially free."