The ex-editor of the pro-Russian channel headed the communications of the Central Bank of Ukraine: the team is protesting

The former editor-in-chief of the pro-Russian channel ZIK headed the communications department of the Center for Public Health at the Ministry of Health.

The team of communicators resigned as a sign of protest – they say that a person with such a past cannot work in a managerial position in a state institution.

“Very unexpectedly for me, I am forced to leave the Central Committee. However, my conscience does not allow me to work with a person who managed the spread of Russian propaganda in Ukraine.

Her position alone already testifies to the fact that the person was clearly not only aware of the channel’s pro-Russian propaganda policy, but also directly managed its implementation.”– wrote Antonina Dolomanzhy, a former communicator of the CGZ.

According to the girl, she and her colleagues tried to convey to the management the inadmissibility of such personnel decisions during the war, but it did not work.

“Unfortunately, the management did not want to hear us. “CGZ is an apolitical organization”, – andthey told us. And the management is not interested in the past and political views of this person.”– says Antonina.

After the publicity of Darya Gordiyko statedwho leaves the Center for Public Health, and described the scandal surrounding her appointment as cancel culture (cancellation culture).

“Sometimes people make mistakes. Sometimes seriously. And sometimes – when it is profitable – they reveal their manipulations and unwillingness to work for high principles.

But today it is better to direct efforts to the common main goal – the struggle for victory. That’s what I do. That’s what my family does. And so – my support for the Armed Forces is not abstract and impersonal, but very much even personified – it is difficult for me to be abstract when my husband is fighting.” – added Gordiyko.

However, this answer did not satisfy the team.

Officially, CGZ has not yet commented on the incident. “UP. Life” has already contacted the Ministry of Health and is waiting for a response. We are still trying to find out what happened.

Darya Gordiyko became the head of the communications department of the Central Bank of Ukraine at the end of January.

As she told in a comment for “UP. Life” Antonin Dolomanzhy, at first the colleagues did not know about the background of their newly appointed head.

“She was officially introduced to us on Friday, on the eve of her first working day, which was supposed to be on Monday. During her presentation, she did not mention her work at ZIK, only talking about Pryamiy and some Polish radio.

There was not a word about it in her greeting card-introduction for employees in the internal chat of the Center. The team had questions when she said that she had no experience working directly in communications or in the medical field. That’s why we started googling about her, where we came across information about her work at ZIK”Antonina said.

The girl claims that the management of the institution “did not want to listen” to criticism of such personnel changes.

“We were told that “the task of the Center is to develop public health, not politics”. However, how will a specialist who worked for the collapse of the state and incited hate speech contribute to this development?” Antonina is indignant.

After this conversation, the Center’s communications department left almost its entire staff.

“The work of a person who worked for pro-Russian propaganda at the Center for Public Health raises many questions about this institution and the policy of its management. After all, the Center for Public Health has sensitive information about the epidemic situation, including among the Defense Forces, and is the main recipient of international grant aid.

The appointment of such people may threaten the leakage of sensitive and important information for the enemy, which really poses a threat to national security.

Through a simple search in social networks, you can see that Gordiyko’s husband serves in the army. But this cannot justify her previous actions“, says Antonina.

We will remind you that ZIK is one of the channels of Putin’s godfather Viktor Medvedchuk, who banned in Ukraine February 2, 2021 (together with “112 Ukraine” and NewsOne). Russian propaganda and comments by pro-Russian “experts”, in particular from the now-banned OPZH party, were often broadcast on this TV channel.

In addition to propaganda on political topics, the channel also had manipulations on the topic of medicine. For example, during the coronavirus pandemic, ZIK promoted the Russian vaccine almost as the only means of salvation against the disease against the background of an increase in the number of patients.

“After the channel came under Medvedchuk’s control, a number of leading journalists were fired from it. But Ms. Gordiyko did the opposite –came to work for Russian propaganda. At that time, information policy ZIK acquired a pronounced anti-Ukrainian pro-Russian orientation.

ZIK, under the “leadership” of Gordiyko, produced not just pro-Russian content, but also Russian IPSO, in particular about American biolaboratories. After the full-scale invasion, we all heard the same messages from the representative of so-called Russia at the UN. According to IMI, it was Medvedchuk’s channels that became the main newsmakers on the topic of “secret laboratories”Antonina emphasizes.

Gordiyko’s statement that she is leaving the CGZ is not enough for the communications team – they demand the CGZ’s reaction to the incident. Antonina Dolomanzhi also believes that Daria’s dismissal should have been a decision of the Center’s management.

“This should have happened immediately after we informed the new management about this situation (because she was appointed under the previous general director). I am already silent about the fact that such a person should not have been hired for a management position in a state institution.

Currently, we would like to see a statement from the Center regarding the dismissal of Ms. Daria, and not just her post on social media. In addition, the management should publicly explain the words about the institution’s “apoliticalness”Antonina urges.