A pre-trial investigation has been launched into threats made against the editor-in-chief of a Rivne-based media outlet. On 29 September, two threatening voice messages addressed to the editor were sent to the newsroom via the social network Facebook, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported.
According to preliminary information, they may have been sent by a man whose children are mentioned in a journalistic report about the illegal sale of tea made from the banned plant kratom. He demanded that his children not be mentioned in publications and issued threats of physical violence.
“On 2 October 2026, information on this incident was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under Part 1 of Article 345-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — a threat of murder, violence, or destruction or damage to property against a journalist, their close relatives or family members in connection with the journalist’s lawful professional activity,” the statement said.
Law enforcement officers are determining who exactly sent the threatening messages.
The outlet ‘Fourth Estate’ said the threats concern its editor-in-chief, Volodymyr Torbich. According to the newsroom’s account, they were sent by a man named Oleksandr — the father of two men accused of illegal trafficking in a narcotic substance. The men are the children of a Rivne official and a serviceman.