Ukraine: Three months of reporting amidst war
Russia continues to attack Ukrainian cities, and the war is far from over. In these conditions, newsrooms and journalists are doing their best to report from the frontlines and to deliver a truthful account of war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukrainian cities and villages. Free Press Unlimited keeps working, together with our partners, to keep journalists safe and to maintain the flow of reliable information.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine conducted a survey among its members, in May 2022. The results alerted to a possible crisis, with regards to the financial sustainability of hundreds of local and smaller media outlets, who are faced with difficult choices. With the traditional models of revenues largely gone, they have to rely on new sources of income and ask third parties for support. In these conditions, physical and psycho-social safety of journalists, both in-country and cross-border, continue to be of utmost importance.
What Media Lifeline Ukraine has done so far
On physical safety
Our Safety & Eurasia teams worked closely together to provide safety support to 485 Ukrainian media workers to ensure that they can continue doing their important work for their newsrooms. We partnered with Reporters Without Borders, ACOS Alliance, 2402 Fund, National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Gazeta Wyborcza and other stakeholders to deliver 150 medical emergency kits and accompanying training and to provide 150 high-quality ballistic vests and helmets. At least a 140 journalists from other regions impacted by the war were also supported.
On content
We supported several newsrooms and freelance initiatives in Ukraine and across its borders to produce 48 pieces of content with the writing of accurate, timely and trustworthy coverage of the war and its’ consequences. We provided several journalists who had to flee Ukraine with opportunities to receive shelter in the European Union, to enable them to contribute further to their home media. Two media hubs in Poland are getting ready to accept more journalists from Ukraine starting from autumn 2022 onwards. We also helped media in Georgia and Moldova to improve their own coverage of Ukraine, and thus resilience of their audiences to misinformation.
On digital safety
We distribute VPN codes to journalists, enabling safe (digital) operations in the occupied territories. Together with like-minded NGOs, we are developing a comprehensive plan to address the systematic abuse of social media by governmental actors and to improve the Big Tech response to cases of such violations.
Continuous support
We continue to provide urgent and mid-term support to media professionals and journalists in and around Ukraine. As the work of independent journalists in Russia has become nearly impossible, we have also been supporting journalists there, and have provided safety support to 120 Russian journalists so far. Through Media Lifeline Ukraine, we are building capacity to resist censorship in countries around Ukraine, which continues to pose a challenge to the dozens of brilliant and brave journalists.
We continue to work to protect journalists and their vital role in society to ensure access to factual, timely and relevant information. We cannot do this without your support.
