‘Are you not dead yet?’ Journalist Kalyuzhna reported threats from the commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade and his subordinates

Journalist Anna Kalyuzhnaya has reported receiving threats from Dmytro Kukharchuk, the commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade, and his subordinates.

“They are threatening to kill me and rape my parents in front of me,” Kalyuzhnaya wrote on Facebook, stating that such messages are likely being sent by Kukharchuk’s fellow soldiers.

The conflict between them started the day before yesterday. Kalyuzhnaya criticized the “politicians and their media friends” from the 3rd Assault Brigade on social media, who on June 18 spoke of a major Russian offensive towards Borova and claimed the brigade had no reserves in that area.

Kalyuzhnaya saw this as an attempt to draw the command’s attention specifically to this sector, although she argued that the situation is equally difficult across the entire front. She also drew parallels with Avdiivka, where the 3rd Assault Brigade was sent to counter a Russian breakthrough but was not successful.

“When several Ukrainian Armed Forces brigades held the defense there for months, becoming extremely exhausted, a brigade commanded by a politician (Andriy Biletsky) was brought in, and it immediately seemed that the enemy had thrown all their armies against one brigade. Bloggers through Facebook urged everyone to withdraw from there,” Kalyuzhnaya wrote, accusing the 3rd Assault Brigade of self-promotion.

In response, Kukharchuk published a list of “dishonorable journalists,” which included Kalyuzhnaya and several other names.

“Just remember the names of those who undermine the blood of my fallen comrades in Avdiivka. These are the names of those who devalued the heroism of the Third Assault Brigade and my battalion, which ensured the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops. You are not journalists. You are the shame of the Ukrainian nation,” the commander stated.

Subsequently, Kalyuzhnaya posted about the threats. She claimed that she received a text from Kukharchuk’s number saying, “Are you still not dead?” and other numbers made night time calls, insults and threats to rape her parents with a stick.

According to Kalyuzhnaya, the threat was written by someone named Nazar, a private in the 3rd Assault Brigade. Other offensive messages were sent by Kukharchuk’s subordinate Alexander. The journalist stated that the information has been passed to the police.

Commenting on these insults in a personal correspondence with Kalyuzhnaya, Kukharchuk, according to her, explained them by saying she “devalued the heroism.”

The commander later confirmed the authenticity of his correspondence with the journalist but denied threatening her. He called her statements a “smear campaign against the brigade.”