KIEV, May 22. /ITAR-TASS/. Before the early presidential elections planned in Ukraine for May 25, Kiev authorities have blocked work of the Multimedia Invest Group holding.

Assets of one of the companies were frozen on Tuesday, and on Thursday morning armed masked men seized the News newspaper editorial office, holding the editorial staff in the building, sources of the Group said.

"We regard such actions as political pressure on media that objectively cover events in the country and give critical materials about activities of current authorities," a source of Multimedia Invest Group noted. "It is obvious such actions when a few days before a vote, activities of a major Ukrainian newspaper are blocked, democracy of the process of the forthcoming presidential elections is called into question."

Actions against Multimedia Invest Group affect work of the all-Ukrainian newspaper News, the News.ua website, the News Reporter journal, the UBR television channel and Radio News.