Dmytro Pletenchuk, the newly appointed press chief of the Ukrainian military's Southern Operational Command in a photo posted on Facebook on Dec. 18, 2021. (Dmytro Pletenchuk/Facebook)
Dmytro Pletenchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Navy, confirmed to Suspilne on April 22 that he had been appointed as the new press chief for the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine's Armed Forces.
The previous press chief, Nataliia Humeniuk, was dismissed on April 19.
Humeniuk drew criticism from the Ukrainian media association Mediarukh for allegedly preventing journalists from properly covering Russian crimes in Kherson Oblast.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces announced Humeniuk's dismissal without mentioning the reason but said that the search for her replacement is underway.
Pletenchuk told Suspilne he would take over as press chief starting on April 22. He has served as a Navy spokesperson since May 2023.
Nate Ostiller is a former News Editor at the Kyiv Independent. He works on special projects as a researcher and writer for The Red Line Podcast, covering Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and focused primarily on digital misinformation, memory politics, and ethnic conflict. Nate has a Master’s degree in Russian and Eurasian Studies from the University of Glasgow, and spent two years studying abroad at Kyiv-Mohyla Academy in Ukraine. Originally from the USA, he is currently based in Tbilisi, Georgia.
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