Petition calling on Zelenskyy to hold open press conference with media reaches 25,000 signatures
A petition calling on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to hold an open press conference with journalists from independent media has collected the required 25,000 signatures. The Office of the President has not commented on it so far.
This is shown by data on the Office of the President’s website, Censor.NET reports.
As of September 29, the petition had collected the 25,000 signatures required for consideration.
What the petition says
The appeal to the president was posted on August 27. Its author, journalist Anna Repina, was one of the coordinators of protests against the dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister.
She explained her request by saying that protests had continued in Ukraine for more than a month after Fedorov’s dismissal. During the protests, Ukrainians made demands of President Zelenskyy and called for open dialogue. According to her, even after the rallies ended, society "had not been heard," and the authorities had still shown no willingness to engage in full and open dialogue.
The petition’s author also believes that an open press conference with the president and independent, "critical" journalists who can ask "tough and uncomfortable" questions about domestic policy, government decisions and the demands voiced during the protests could be one realistic way to hear citizens.
Which media outlets the petition proposes inviting
"We therefore ask you to hold a separate open press conference and invite representatives of independent media outlets that serve the public interest, including Ukrainska Pravda, Bihus.Info, Slidstvo.Info, Radio Liberty, hromadske, The Kyiv Independent, Suspilne, NV, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia, BBC Ukraine, Liga.net and other media outlets that will be able to ask questions without having their content approved in advance," the petition said.
Repina also stressed that she was asking Zelenskyy for "not an imitation of dialogue, but a real opportunity to be heard."
The Office of the President has not yet commented on whether it will arrange such a press conference between Zelenskyy and journalists.
What happened earlier?
- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a semi-closed meeting with a group of media outlets selected by the Presidential Office after it refused to publish petitions calling for an open press conference with independent journalists.
- On August 20, the Office of the President of Ukraine refused to publish a petition on the president’s website requesting a press conference with independent media, journalist Danylo Mokryk reported.
- On August 27, Mokryk said that a similar petition authored by Anna Repina had been registered.
- On September 3, the journalist reported that he had filed a complaint against the Office of the President with the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights over its refusal to publish his petition. He later said the ombudsman had opened proceedings in response to his complaint.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last held a major press conference for a broad range of journalists in February 2025. In December 2025, the Office of the President also introduced a format in which Zelenskyy provides audio answers through WhatsApp. Under this format, the head of state answers questions submitted by journalists in advance.
