Criticized “Azov”, visited Chechnya and annexed Crimea: Online outrage over new military ombudsman

In the online sphere, journalist Olga Reshetilova’s appointment as the Presidential Commissioner of Ukraine for the Protection of Servicemen’s Rights is facing criticism.

Several Ukrainian bloggers and military personnel are sharing photos and screenshots claiming that Reshetilova had posed for pictures on Putin Avenue in Grozny, traveled to Crimea after its annexation.

Also shecriticized the far-right members of “Azov” and other volunteer battalions. It is also noted that the journalist accused “Azov” of excessive self-promotion and involvement in the dispersal of LGBT marches. Additionally, she reproached the volunteer battalions for allegedly receiving funding from oligarch Ihor Kolomoisky.

“95% of the PR from the ATO zone goes to Aidar, Azov, Dnipro-1. Have you heard that the battles for Shyrokyne (a village near Mariupol, for which Azov’s role in 2015 was widely covered in the media—Ed.) are being fought by the 79th brigade? No? Exactly. Because the 79th brigade doesn’t have its own press center, but Azov does,” Reshetilova wrote.

Amid the wave of criticism directed at her, Olga responded to the allegations.

In a statement, she clarified that her trips to Crimea were to document forced disappearances of Crimean residents for a journalistic investigation, and her trip to Grozny a year later was to attend the trial of political prisoners Mykola Karpyuk and Stanislav Klykh. She noted that these trips were made “in a car belonging to the Ukrainian consulate, accompanied by Ukrainian diplomats.”

“These were very dangerous trips. We could very well not have returned. But they were important because at the time, almost no one was talking about what Russia was doing to abducted Ukrainian civilians. It needed to be shown,” Reshetilova stated.

As a reminder, on December 30, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree appointing Olga Reshetilova as the Presidential Commissioner of Ukraine for the Protection of Servicemen’s Rights and their families.