The State of Media in Ukraine during the War

MEDIA IN UKRAINE DURING THE WAR

PEC

Second report (March 20-27) prepared by Andrii Ianitskyi at the request of Press Emblem Campaign (PEC)

Lviv (Ukraine), 28 March 2022.

Short brief. 32 days after the Russian invasion in Ukraine:

Ukrainian authorities have tightened control over the media
Ukrainian journalists work under Russian occupation
7 journalists killed (local and international both), dozens wounded, 1 missing
Media development organizations advise using the correct terms about the war in Ukraine and raises money to support the Ukrainian media
President of Ukraine gave an interview to Russian media
Russian journalists work in Ukraine
The work of Ukrainian media during martial law

On March 20, the National Defense Council of Ukraine subjugated the operator of digital broadcasting for the duration of martial law. In another decision, the Council ordered the operator to “take measures” to pursue a unified information policy under martial law. Thus, the National Defense Council wanted to unite all news and socio-political TV channels into a common telethon “United News”, that is, to create the only source of news for viewers. After this decision, two channels Pryamiy and Channel 5 joined the single television marathon. These channels are owned by the country’s former president, Petro Poroshenko, and have often criticized President Volodymyr Zelensky.

devastated bus stop in town after bomb explosion — Photo by Алесь Усцінаў on Pexels.com

At the same time, the Espreso channel did not join United News, but began rebroadcasting it for several hours a day on its own frequencies. Espreso also began to rebroadcast the programs of the Voice of America, the BBC, Radio Liberty, France 24 and the local Crimean Tatar TV channel ATR. Thus, the TV channel is trying to maintain editorial independence in its author’s programs.

The tightening of control over the media in Ukraine may be associated with truce talks with Russia. Ukrainian authorities may make unpopular compromises, such as abandoning NATO membership attempts, and seek to limit public criticism of their actions in local media.

On March 21, the Armed forces of Ukraine also banned video and photo shooting of public roads, general purpose facilities, infrastructure facilities, checkpoints, fortifications, concentration or movement of military units of the defense forces.

In addition, on March 24, the Ukrainian Parliament toughened the punishment for photographing and video filming the movement of Ukrainian troops during wartime. Earlier, one of the random photos of a local blogger could have provoked a Russian missile attack on a shopping center in Kyiv, in the parking lot of which several Ukrainian military vehicles were based.

young girl protesting against war in ukraine — Photo by Matti on Pexels.com

Media under Russian occupation

Many Ukrainian journalists ended up in Russian-occupied territories in southern Ukraine. The usual practice in such cases for Russians is a ban on the work of Ukrainian media, replacing them with Russian state broadcasters. The Russians took several Ukrainian journalists in Kherson, Mykolaiv and Energodar (cities in southern Ukraine) and released them after interrogation.

One example is the journalist of the Novy Den newspaper Olekh Baturin, who spent eight days in Russian captivity in the Kherson region. The invaders released him after they subjected him to physical and psychological pressure. The Russians ask the captive journalists for the names of pro-Ukrainian activists who are organizing peaceful protests against the occupation.

Killed and missing journalists

Already 7 journalists were killed (local and international both), 1 was missing since the February 24th of Russian invasion. Several more journalists who went into military service died in the fighting. That is why the Prosecutor General of Ukraine gives a different figure of 12 killed journalists. They include in this sad list those journalists who left their profession for a while and signed up for the army. One journalism teacher also died.

analogue aperture blur business — Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

According to the local Institute of Mass Information and open sources:

Killed:

Yevhen Sakun, cameraman of LIVE TV channel (died on March 1 during the Russian rocket attack on the TV tower in Kyiv);
Brent Renaud, a former correspondent for The New York Times (shot dead by Russians on March 13 in Irpen at a checkpoint);
Pierre Zakrzewski, cameraman for Fox News, an Irish citizen (killed on March 14 during an artillery shelling by Russian troops in the village of Gorenka, Kyiv region).
Oleksandra Kuvshynova, Ukrainian producer, journalist (killed on March 14 together with Pierre Zakrzewski during an artillery shelling by Russian troops in the village of Gorenka, Kyiv region).
Oksana Baulina, a journalist for Russia’s The Insider and Oleksiy Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation (killed on March 23 during an Russian shelling in Kyiv while performing an editorial assignment).
Dilerbek Shakirov, a civilian journalist of the information weekly “Around You” (was shot dead by Russians at a blockpost in the suburbs of Kherson on February 26)
Viktor Dedov, cameraman of Sigma TV from Mariupol (died on March 11 as a result of shelling of his house)

Missing:

Maks Levin, famous Ukrainian photojournalist, has not been heard from since 13 March, when he was reporting in the Vyshgorod district, north of Kyiv.
Media development organizations advise using the correct terms about the war in Ukraine and raises money to support the Ukrainian media

Ukrainian media organizations encourage journalists to use the correct terms when describing the war in Ukraine (for example, use the word war instead of the word conflict).

Other Ukrainian organizations raise money to support local newsrooms. Publishers and readers from all over the world have already transferred more than $4 million to support the Ukrainian media.

President of Ukraine gave an interview to Russian media

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky gave an interview to independent Russian media via Zoom. Official Russian authorities banned the publication of this interview, but at least the newspaper Meduza, which operates in exile from Latvia, published the text and video of the interview.

Russian journalists work in Ukraine

Journalists from independent Russian media (Novaya Gazeta, Meduza, Insider and others) work freely in Ukraine, although they often face prejudice from Ukrainians for obvious reasons.

Propagandists from state Russian media work only in the occupied territories under the cover of Russian troops and often spread fakes and make staged videos.