Zelensky will continue to put pressure on the media – Bortnik

The Ukrainian government was forced to start tightening the screws on the media because its ratings were falling catastrophically, but it will no longer be able to stop.

UIAMP Director Ruslan Bortnik stated this on the Politeka Online TV channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

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“For them, a crisis has come when they need to make some decisions. And having destroyed opposition television channels and thus significantly reducing opposition rhetoric in the media, opening a case against Shariy, thus discrediting him, trying to demonize him in the eyes of society, the authorities are trying to tighten the screws, regain at least partial control over the information space, and reduce opposition pressure on power, preserve the remnants of former ratings and the ability to generally manage the state and society. I consider these actions illegal, I consider these actions to create the most dangerous precedents that are destroying our state. But they are expedient from the point of view of political technologies.

Of course, these actions are also a marker of profound unprofessionalism for me. These problems were solved by other presidents, but they knew how to solve them without violating the Constitution of Ukraine. They solved them behind the scenes, through negotiations, purchases and blackmail, using the classic tools of political informal dialogue. This president’s team turned out to be unable to use classical political instruments to solve the same problems that face every president - this is another profound marker of deprofessionalization,” states Ruslan Bortnik.

When opponents of the government realize that repression will affect everyone, including them, they will tear down the government.

“In such segmented societies as we are today, you can break political opponents - until they realize that this is a process. The situation on the channels is a point, the situation on Shariy is a point. The line between two points is already a straight line, a definite political vector, and as soon as opponents of the government understand that sooner or later it will come to everyone, they will unite against the government and they will simply demolish it,” warns Ruslan Bortnik.

But the authorities could not help but impose sanctions against opposition channels and bloggers.

“The situation with the channels and the situation with Shariy makes the repetition of this situation inevitable - only with other groups and politicians. Why couldn’t it be delayed now? Now we are on the verge of a vaccine crisis, we are on the verge of an absolute crisis regarding the situation in Donbass, we are on the verge of a debt crisis (this quarter it will be very difficult with debts), tariffs. There are a lot of questions that will kill the government’s ratings. If the opposition strengthens and chews on this signal for society, I will achieve ratings faster than without this opposition,” says Ruslan Bortnik.

At a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council on Friday, decisions may be made on new sanctions against OPZZH, Shariy, independent journalists and even Petro Poroshenko.

“There is an opinion about four possible scenarios for the development of events on the 19th. The first is the continuation of sanctions against the OPZZH group, against other assets (primarily all diesel pipelines, gas stations and other economic assets of this group, i.e. knock out the economic basis). Secondly, sanctions against Shariy and his party, that is, the defeat and ban of the party, the ban on all assets and media resources of Shariy, that is, finishing off this structure.

Third, the most interesting thing is that they say that there are long lists of several hundred figures, and by decision of the National Security and Defense Council, Ukraine can apply to YouTube and Facebook with these lists regarding their blocking. There are journalists there, there are political scientists, there are many politicians there.

Fourth is Petro Poroshenko. These sanctions can be balanced by the same restrictions and sanctions against the assets of Petro Poroshenko, primarily the “Direct” TV channel. They say that all four options have been written, the draft of these options has been written, that in the end they will decide to launch it is unknown,” summed up Ruslan Bortnik.