Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Vasyl Malyuk has met the ambassadors of the G7 countries, the agency's press service reports.
Among other things, Malyuk confirmed the SBU's commitment to defend democratic values, one of the key pillars of which is freedom of speech.
The ambassadors were briefed about the situation around the Bihus.Info journalist project which had complained about illegal surveillance by the agency.
According to Malyuk, personnel decisions have been made, which included dismissing the head of the department for the protection of national statehood and reformatting the work of those units of the department that need to be changed and strengthened.
"The independence of the media must be ensured at 100%. This is the standard we must hold high, especially during the war. I will not allow any violations of this crucial principle of democracy in the SBU's activities," he stressed.
· Earlier, representatives of the Ukrainian media, including the editors of Bihus.info, met the G7 ambassadors.
· On 6 January, parliament voted to summon Malyuk over the case of illegal surveillance of journalists. However, Malyuk did not come to parliament today. According to MP Yaroslav Zheleznyak, he will not report to MPs at least in the near future. According to him, Malyuk has been sent an invitation, but the agenda-setting council will decide when the report will be presented, which is no earlier than in two weeks (given the parliament's work schedule).
· After being summoned to parliament, Malyuk said that he would do everything possible to ensure that every media outlet could work freely in Ukraine.
· The day before, the Bihus.Info team said that they had been followed by the Security Service of Ukraine, and the operation was organised by the department for the protection of national statehood.