In protest of the first 100 days of President Viktor Yanukovych’s administration, the feminist group FEMEN staged a dramatic demonstration in Kyiv, where they symbolically beat journalists with batons to draw attention to the deteriorating state of press freedom in Ukraine.

The event, dubbed “100 Days: FEMEN Beat Journalists with Batons for Freedom of Speech,” highlighted the alarming trend of censorship and repression that has emerged since Yanukovych took office.

The protest was a direct response to the numerous international scandals that have plagued Ukraine in recent months, including the exclusion of women from the Cabinet and the revelations by Ukrainian TV journalists about censorship imposed by authorities. The situation has further escalated with the introduction of a ban on protests during the visit of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev—a restriction not seen in Ukraine for the past five years.

Under Yanukovych’s administration, there have been increasing reports of arrests of dissenting activists and the detainment of journalists, as well as “high-level recommendations” to major media outlets to suppress inconvenient truths. FEMEN’s action was a stark statement against these measures, symbolizing the 100 days of assault on democratic freedoms in Ukraine.

“We declare that the government cannot count on our support while it continues to ‘tame and format’ civil liberties in Ukraine,” FEMEN activists stated. “We urge members of the media, public organizations, and both Ukrainian and international communities to do everything possible to prevent the complete rollback of freedoms in Ukraine!”

The protest was a stark reminder of the fragile state of democracy under Yanukovych, as FEMEN and other civil society groups continue to fight against the erosion of civil liberties.