A petition calling for Zelensky's press conference without pre-approved questions has gathered 25,000 signatures

A petition demanding an open press conference by President Volodymyr Zelensky has received the required 25,000 signatures on the presidential e-petitions website. This means the president must consider the proposal to meet with journalists from independent media. According to petition.president.gov.ua.

The author of the petition, Anna Repina, proposes organizing a separate press conference involving independent and socially important newsrooms. The key condition — journalists must be able to ask questions without having their content pre-approved. The petition No.22/269406-ep was published on 27 August.

The petition proposes inviting representatives of the following media:

• «Ukrainska Pravda»;
• Bihus.Info;
• «Slidstvo.Info»;
• «Radio Svoboda»;
• hromadske;
• The Kyiv Independent;
• «Suspilne»;
• NV;
• «Dzerkalo Tyzhnia»;
• BBC Ukraine;
• Liga.net.

At the same time, the Office of the President has not yet said whether the proposed meeting with the press will take place.

Anna Repina explains the petition’s appearance by the protests that lasted in Ukraine for more than a month. In her view, after the end of the actions the authorities did not ensure sufficient open communication with the public. The petition phrases this as:

“One of the realistic ways to hear citizens could be an open press conference with the participation of independent and critically minded journalists.”

Reports about blocking similar initiatives preceded the publication of the petition. On 20 August journalist Danylo Mokryk said that at least five such petitions had been blocked. According to him, the Office of the President even refused to publish the petition and gave the author the following explanation in its response:

“does not meet the established requirements.”

The last open press conference by Volodymyr Zelensky was held in February 2025. Approximately 150 media outlets took part.

Source

Earlier we wrote:

• “’The Incredible Happened’: a petition about an open press conference appeared on the President’s website”
• 40 million in taxes, and sex is banned: what Zelensky told OnlyFans models
• Transparency on paper: in Mykolaiv you still cannot submit a petition online
• Zelensky responded to the petition to rename Russia to Moskovia
• Only “if deemed appropriate” may the proposals of Mykolaiv residents be implemented. The procedure for reviewing electronic petitions has been changed