The day before, "Channel 5" journalist Hanna Rybalka asked President Volodymyr Zelensky several sharp questions. After the press conference, posts with insults and accusations towards the journalist began to appear on the network.
In particular, the journalist asked Zelensky whether he regrets reassuring Ukrainians and downplaying the threat on the eve of a full-scale Russian invasion, and whether he sees personal responsibility in this.
She also asked about the former head of the SBU, Ivan Bakanov, what punishment should he face.
Volodymyr Zelensky did not give a clear answer to the question. Instead, he mentioned his predecessor, the fifth president.
After the press conference, offensive posts and accusations against Hanna Rybalka began to appear on the Internet. Messages began to be sent to personal as well.
Most of the users who wrote these posts blocked their pages. Some of them are simply similar to the work of bots that were specially targeted at the journalist.
At the same time, many contributors supported Hanna. They wrote, in particular, that this was the only sharp question at the over two-hour long press conference of the President.
The editor-in-chief of the "Novynarnya" publication Dmytro Lykhovoi wrote on social networks that Volodymyr Zelensky's sharp response shows that in our country the two images of the president are increasingly demarcated. He spoke well about foreign policy. On the other hand, regarding the internal one, he does not adequately assess reality.
Yuriy Butusov, editor-in-chief of "Censor.NET" publication, recalled how he was refused accreditation for the press conference. But he wrote that democratic leaders are not afraid of uncomfortable questions, because this is their responsibility to the voters.
And the journalist Viktor Shlinchak wrote that his question was ignored by the moderators, because it did not fit into the general outline of the meeting.
Petro Poroshenko also reacted to Volodymyr Zelensky's answer. He declared that the key to victory is unity. Therefore, he will continue to do everything in order not to destroy it. In addition, the fifth president emphasized that the basis of democracy is freedom of speech. And the task of journalists is to ask questions, and politicians to calmly answer them.