Yuliia Mostova - attack 26.08.2026

On August 26, 2026, a post about Yuliia Mostova, editor-in-chief of the  ZN.UA (Dzerkalo Tyzhnia), appeared on the Telegram channel Zapysky Paskvilianta, run by blogger Volodymyr Boiko. The post was illustrated with a photograph showing Yuliia Mostova with a cigarette in her mouth and contained the following text:

“Under the heading ‘Media Whores.’

December 2014. I am sitting at home working on another article. The phone rings. I pick up:

— Hello.
— Good afternoon, may I speak to Yuliia Volodymyrivna?
— Do you mean Tymoshenko?
— No, Yuliia Volodymyrivna Mostova, editor-in-chief of Dzerkalo Tyzhnia.

The voice sounds familiar, but I cannot remember where I have heard it before. Nevertheless, I reply:

— You know, Yuliia Volodymyrivna is currently dividing the money received for another commissioned publication, so she cannot come to the phone.

I hang up. Half a minute later, there is another call from the same number. I answer. The same voice asks:

— Volodymyr Markovych, is that you? This is Prosecutor General Vitalii Yarema. I wanted to call Mostova, but mixed up the numbers. So, is she really that corrupt and for sale?
— Vitalii Hryhorovych,” I reply, “well, think for yourself, what does this slut live on if her newspaper has a tiny circulation, and even that ends up in waste paper every week, since even the ladies working along Kyiv’s Great Ring Road would not want to use Dzerkalo Tyzhnia to wipe themselves?
— Ahhh, now I understand…”

The post was published under the hashtag #mediawhores. Women in Media had previously documented online attacks on other women media professionals under this heading on the Telegram channel Zapysky Paskvilianta, including an attack on Kateryna Kobernyk, editor-in-chief of Babel.

This case shows clear signs of technology-facilitated gender-based violence (TFGBV) against a woman journalist. First and foremost, it involves gendered humiliation and sexualized language: Yuliia Mostova is publicly called a “media whore,” a “slut,” and other offensive terms associated specifically with female sexuality and the stereotypical image of a “woman who is for sale.” Such statements are aimed not only at criticizing the editor’s professional activities but also at humiliating her as a woman through sexualized insults and misogynistic stereotypes.

In addition, the post contains signs of gendered disinformation and a reputational attack: without providing evidence, the author spreads claims that Yuliia Mostova is allegedly corrupt and receives money for “commissioned publications.” The use of a dedicated heading and the hashtag #mediawhores, as well as the repeated nature of similar attacks against other women journalists, suggests the systematic use of gendered language to discredit women in the media. This form of attack may have a chilling effect by devaluing the journalist’s professional reputation, undermining trust in her work, and creating a hostile environment for women who hold visible and leadership positions in the media.