The United States is concerned about the rising number of attacks and the increasing pressure on journalists in Ukraine, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor at the U.S. Department of State Thomas O. Melia has said.

He told Ukrainian reporters on Thursday that he had come to Ukraine to attend the next meeting of the U.S.-Ukraine Political Dialogue/Rule of Law Working Group.

"We [the U.S. side] expressed our deep concern at the growth in recent months in attacks and pressure on journalists. We talked about the pressure on non-governmental organizations, the organizations monitoring the observance of freedoms, and about the latest phenomenon - cyber attacks," Melia said.

He said that at a meeting with the Ukrainian side it he discussed the hacking of accounts and the creation of clone Web sites that imitate the design of other sites.

"We expressed hope that the Ukrainian side is seriously investigating these incidents and will bring those guilty to account," Melia said.