Eight journalists killed and 217 Ukrainian media closed in a year of war

The first year of war in Ukraine left eight journalists dead, 26 cases of professionals deliberately attacked while covering the conflict and some 217 Ukrainian media closed, among other damages to the freedom of informationaccording to a detailed balance this Monday by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

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On the verge of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, which occurred on February 24, 2022, RSF indicated in a statement that a total of 12,000 local and foreign reporters were accredited to cover the war in the last twelve months.

Those media workers were “exposed to frequent shelling and were often deliberately targeted by Russian forces.”

“Although the situation is particularly alarming for journalists in the occupied areas, all Ukrainian media have been hard hit by the war and its aftermath”noted the Paris-based non-governmental organization.

The most worrying figures on violence against journalists, collected by RSF and by the Ukrainian Institute for Mass Information, are the eight journalists who died in the war during the first six months.

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Among them are the Frenchman Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff, killed by a Russian artillery shell that hit the Ukrainian vehicle in which he was traveling, or the Ukrainian photographer Maks Levin, who was “executed in cold blood.” Other deaths, such as that of the Lithuanian documentary filmmaker Mantas Kvedaravicius, have yet to be clarified.

RSF also highlighted that, of a total of 50 cases in which journalists were attacked with firearms, at least 26 were deliberately targeted for their work.

The number of journalists injured was 19, four of them with serious injuries, and in most of the cases “They were victims of Russian artillery or missile attacks, but some received gunshot wounds.”

As a result of the attacks, RSF has filed seven war crimes complaints with the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office and with the International Criminal Court in The Hague for a total of “44 acts of violence and abuse” involving just over a hundred journalists.

Media infrastructures were also severely damaged. At least 16 television towers were targeted, within a framework in which the facilities used to transmit information to the civilian population have been one of the “favorite targets of Russian forces.”

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Repeaters, antennas and other types of communication infrastructure were also frequently affected and a total of 217 Ukrainian media had to close due to different problems related to the war, from lack of material and human resources to the destruction of their headquarters.

“According to a survey by IMI, RSF’s local partner, 15% of media workers have been fired or are working without pay”details the report.

In this context, the organization that fights for press freedom also highlighted having launched extraordinary resources to support media professionals.

For example, some 750 reporters received protective equipment, 91 media outlets received supplementary power sources, and 28 received financial help to continue their activity.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.