Dmytro Pletenchuk appointed head of the Southern Defense Forces press office

Dmytro Pletenchuk. Photo by Dmytro Pletenchuk on Facebook

Dmytro Pletenchuk was put in charge of the Strategic Communications Center of the Southern Defense Forces on April 22.

Third rank captain Dmytro Pletenchuk announced this in a comment to Ukrinform himself.

"Starting today, I will be performing my duties as head of the Joint Coordination Press Center of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine," said Pletenchuk.

Before his appointment, Pletenchuk was the spokesman of the Ukrainian Navy.

On April 16, multiple media workers signed an address to the military command on Natalya Humeniuk's work.

The media workers said that Natalya Humeniuk was barring them from covering Russia's war crimes in the area she supervises. They demanded that the military command replace Natalya Humeniuk "with a more competent person and keep her out of communications management of any kind."

The journalists also demanded access to parts of the Kherson oblast.

The address was signed by the Ukrainian media association "Media Movement", as well as over 150 representatives of Ukrainian and foreign media outlets.

On April 17, the head of the Joint Coordination Center of the Southern Ukraine Defense Forces, Natalya Humeniuk, said that the facts in the media's address asking for her dismissal were listed without any proof.

On April 19, 2024, the chief of strategic communications of the South Defense Forces Natalya Humeniuk was dismissed from her post.