Independent watchdog organization Freedom House has assigned Ukraine with the Partly Free status in a fresh report of the Freedom on the Net 2019 project.

Ukraine gained 56 of 100 points, according to the document.

Freedom House experts noted active manipulation of public debate in the Ukrainian digital environment through disinformation and paid content. According to the report, the online information landscape is partly censored at both sides of the conflict in Donbas, "with the [Ukrainian] government blocking Russian and separatist websites, and the separatist forces blocking Ukrainian websites in the areas under their control."

Ukraine continues blocking hundreds of websites, including popular news websites and social media platforms, using a non-transparent decision-making process which often does not meet national and international regulations, reads the report. It is hard to understand which content is blocked and for what reasons, which causes a strong polarization of opinions in the community, demonstrates the lack of the government's transparency and responsibility for such decisions as well as undermines rule of law in Ukraine, according to the document.

As to the occupied territories of Ukraine, in addition to blocking of Ukrainian websites some of their users were arrested, online journalists were attacked and Ukrainian internet service providers were forced out compromising connectivity in those areas.

Russia-style deliberate censorship, monitoring and persecution of users for content posted online as well as tough regulations in the digital environment in the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions resulted into a catastrophic situation with internet freedom there, Freedom House said.

Among the post-Soviet countries, Ukraine follows Kyrgyzstan assigned with the Party Free status and Armenia and Georgia with the Free status in the report. Below Ukraine in the ranking are Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Russia assigned with the Not Free status.