Nataliia Humeniuk, who was dismissed in April from her position as the head of the Southern Defense Forces' press department, has been appointed the deputy head of the Southern Operational Command's communications department, Humeniuk told Detector Media on June 5.
Humeniuk said that "everything related to the communications of the Southern Operational Command" is under her authority.
The communications department was created "as part of the communication reform in the Armed Forces as a whole," Humeniuk said.
"It is a relatively new structure," Humeniuk said, adding that the department is tasked with improving "communications with the conclusions that have been drawn since the beginning of the full-scale invasion."
Humeniuk declined to say when she started this role, as the appointment of a military officer is "confidential information."
In her work as the head of the Southern Defense Forces' press department, Humeniuk drew criticism from the Ukrainian media association Mediarukh for allegedly preventing journalists from properly covering Russian crimes in Kherson Oblast.
Mediarukh sent a letter on April 16 calling for Humeniuk's replacement. The letter was addressed to Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, and Chief of the General Staff Anatolii Barhylevych and was signed by 100 journalists and media workers.
The letter accused Humeniuk of denying journalists access to regions where she oversees the military's work with the media.
In a comment for the Kyiv Independent, Humeniuk said that there had been no violations of rules on her part and that the "work has always been organized in accordance with operational safety."
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
