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A year and a half of the big war: 529 crimes against journalists and media committed by Russia in Ukraine

24.08.2023, 10:00

In the year and a half since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 529 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine.

This is evidenced by the Monitoring of Russian Crimes against Journalists and Media carried out by the Institute of Mass Information.

In total, since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the occupiers have:

  • killed 66 journalists, 10 of whom died while reporting. The Russians murdered 6 foreign and 60 Ukrainian journalists.
  • captured or kidnapped media workers 22 times. Namely, UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khyliuk and Iryna Levchenko, a reporter from temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast), are currently being held captive by the Russians.
  • wounded 24 journalists by shelling. Namely, the journalists have gotten concussion and shrapnel wounds, had their bones broken and limbs injured.

In the one and a half years of the big war, the Russians have shelled Ukrainian TV towers 16 times despite those being considered civilian objects. This caused TV and radio broadcasting to disappear in nine oblasts of Ukraine.

The invasion also resulted in at least 233 Ukrainian media outlets closing down in whole or in part. The outlets were forced to close due to direct threats from the Russian occupiers, their offices being seized or destroyed, being unable to work under occupation, and the financial crisis caused by the Russian war.

The Russians continue to attack Ukrainian online media outlets covering the war (IMI has recorded 55 such cases so far). In particular, Russian cybercriminals have hacked media websites, changing the news articles there to Russian manifestos, posting Russian symbols or calls to surrender. Moreover, IMI has recorded phishing attempts targeting Ukrainian media and journalists.

IMI also recorded 67 cases of journalists and editors of both national and regional media receiving threats. At first, the occupiers would threat the journalists personally (by coming to the journalists' homes or to their parents) and then switched to online threats (e-mails threatening prosecution, imprisonment, torture, interrogations and nuclear strikes).

Overall, during July–August 2023, IMI recorded five freedom of speech violations committed by Russia: wounding journalists, cyber attacks and legal pressure on media workers.

In July, Maksym Shwartzman, a soldier, photojournalist and videographer for the Chernivtsi news agency ACC, was killed in action in Donetsk oblast. He enlisted in the Chernivtsi Territorial Defense in the first days of the full-scale war. According to IMI, Maksym Shwartzman is the 66th media worker to be killed in the course of Russia's aggression.

A reporter for the French news agency AFP was wounded by a drone strike near Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast, on July 24. All journalists were actively reporting, covering the work of the Ukrainian army.

Furthermore, Russia has declared two Ukrainian journalists – Natalya Moseychuk and Yanina Sokolova – wanted. The propagandists remarked that last year the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation had opened a case against Moseychuk "for calling for violence against Russian pilots and their relatives." Previously, speaking on the "United News" marathon, the TV host reacted to reports about another bomb strike on Ukraine. She reminded the Russian military and their families about their responsibility. In particular, Moseychuk said that the wives of the Russian occupiers should "be afraid and understand that sooner or later" they will become widows. And she advised the brides of Russian pilots to "find black headscarves."

Yanina Sokolova responded to the news about being wanted with irony, noting that "I was already warrying that I'm not Russophobic enough. So I am glad they did it."

ZN.UA editors reported that their website was subjected to a Russian DDoS attack on the night of August 9. The website was under attack for several hours, which prevented readers from accessing information. However, the outlet managed to repel the attack and restore the website.

Moreover, on the night of August 21, the Russians hacked the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian media outlet "RIA Melitopol", which continued to work even after Melitopol (Zaporizhia oblast) was occupied. The media posted the relevant statement on its website. The editors noted that "the ruscists are posting their shameful news on the TG channel, changed the channel's name to Russian and added a different profile picture."

Details below:

Murder – 10 (66)

1. Live TV cameraman dies during shelling of Kyiv TV tower

01.03.2022 Live TV cameraman Yevheniy Sakun was killed in the shelling of a TV tower in Kyiv on March 1.

The report on the death of the TV channel worker was later confirmed by the National Police, according to Novyny.LIVE.

"Now we have a personal account with the invaders," Yevheniy Sakun's colleagues wrote. Novyny.LIVE editorial staff expresses their sincere condolences to the family of the deceased.

As IMI has reported, on March 1, russian troops shelled the Kyiv TV tower; the channels had temporarily gone off air as a result.

The Shevchenkivsky District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv has launched a criminal investigation into the shelling attack on Kyiv TV tower, which resulted in the death of several people (violation of the laws and customs of war) (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

2. russian terrorists kill journalist Brent Renaud in Irpin

13.03.2022 In Irpin, near Kyiv, the russian invaders shot dead The New York Times correspondent Brent Renaud and wounded another journalist. This was reported by Kyiv Police Chief Andriy Nebytov.

"Today, a correspondent working for the world-famous New York Times was shot dead in Irpin. Another journalist was wounded. Now the victim is being taken away from the combat zone. Naturally, the journalist's profession involves some risks, but the US citizen Brent Renaud paid the price of his life for trying to cover the villainy, cruelty, and ruthlessness of the aggressor," Andriy Nebytov wrote.

According to the Okhmatdyt Hospital's spokeswoman Anastasia Magerramova, the injured journalist, American citizen Juan Diego Herrera Arredondo, 46 years old, was conscious. The man received a shrapnel wound in his thigh. He has been operated by Okhmatdyt medics. He does not know of his colleague's fate yet. The last thing he remembers is Brent Renaud being shot in the neck at a russian checkpoint.

3. Photojournalist Max Levin killed by russian troops – Prosecutor's Office

02.03.2022 Photojournalist Maxim Levin, who had gone missing while carrying out his journalistic duties in March in Kyiv region, has been found dead. This was reported to the Institute of Mass Information by Prosecutor General's Office.

“The journalist's body was found in the village of Huta Mezhyhirska in Vyshhorod district. According to preliminary information, Maxim Levin, unarmed, was killed by the russian armed forces personnel, shot twice from a light weapon,” the report reads.

The police found the photojournalist's body on April 1.

The Vyshhorod District Prosecutor's Office has opened criminal proceedings for violation of laws and customs of war (Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to LB.ua, where Max had worked for a long time, he and Oleksiy Chernyshov, a serviceman and formerly a photographer, went to document the outcomes of russian aggression. The fate of Oleksiy Chernyshov is currently unknown.

Max Levin is survived by four underage sons, a wife and elderly parents.

As IMI reported, photojournalist Maxim Levin went missing on the front line in the Vyshhorod district outside Kyiv, where he was performing his professional duties and covering the war. The last time he was in touch was on March 13. 

Maksym Levin was born in 1981 in Kyiv region. He had worked as a photojournalist, documentary photographer and cameraman for many Ukrainian and international publications, had collaborated with Reuters, BBC, TRT World, Associated Press, LB.ua, Hromadske. His photos were published by such publications as the Wall Street Journal, TIME, Break.

4. Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova killed by russian troops near Kyiv

15.03.2022 Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova was killed in an artillery shelling by russian troops in Horenka village, Kyiv region. Fox News cameraman, Irish citizen Pierre Zakrzewski, was killed with her. The adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko reported this.

IMI has got a photo of a badge issued to Oleksandra Kuvshynova by Fox News.

Fox News have also covered their cameraman's death in their story. According to the channel, Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova were working with correspondent Benjamin Hall. They had been in the car when russians fired upon them.

The day before, on March 14, it became known that Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall had been wounded in the leg while filming a report near Kyiv.

According to Herashchenko, a part of Benjamin Hall's thigh has been amputated.

5. Fox News cameraman killed by russian troops

15.03.2022 Fox News cameraman, Irish citizen Pierre Zakrzewski has been killed in an artillery shelling by russian troops in Horenka village, Kyiv region. Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova was killed with him. The adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko reported this. Fox News have also covered their cameraman's death in their story. According to them, Zakrzewski and Kuvshynova had been working with correspondent Benjamin Hall. They had been in the car when russians fired upon them.

6. Journalist for The Insider killed in a shelling in Kyiv

23.03.2022 The Insider journalist Oksana Baulina died on March 23 in a russian shelling attack on Kyiv while carrying out an editorial assignment.

This was reported on the media's website.

According to the newspaper, Oksana Baulina had been filming the destruction after the russian troops fired on the Podol district of the capital and she came under new missile strike. Another civilian was killed with her, and two people who had been accompanying her were injured and hospitalized.

Before joining The Insider, Oksana had been working for Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation. After the organization was added to the extremist list, she was forced to leave russia.

As a correspondent, Oksana went to Ukraine, where she managed to make several reports from Lviv and Kyiv before her death.

The periodical stated that it will continue covering the war in Ukraine, namely such russian war crimes as "indiscriminate shelling of residential areas that is killing civillians and journalists."

7. russians kill Lithuanian documentarist Mantas Kvedaravičius in Mariupol

03.04.2022 In Mariupol, the russian military killed Lithuanian filmmaker and documentarist Mantas Kvedaravičius, as it was reported by "Army Inform," russian filmmaker Vitaly Mansky, and Lithuanian media.

"Army Inform" notes that the director died as he was trying to leave the city. According to Lithuanian media, his car might have been hit by a missile.

Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has already expressed his condolences over the death of Kvedaravičius, delfi.lt reports.

"Not only Lithuania, but the whole world has lost a famous artist who, despite the danger, had been working in Ukraine, which was attacked by russia. I wish much, much strength to his family, friends and all those who appreciate Kvedaravičius' talent," said the Lithuanian President.

Later, Ukrainian journalist Albina Lvutina, who had known the filmmaker, said that Mantas Kvedaravičius had been shot dead by the russian troops. "The heartless russian soldiers captured Mantas and killed him. And then just left him out there. His heroic wife did the unbelievable. Under shelling, she was able to find his body in Mariupol and take him to his native Lithuania. It was necessary to keep this information a secret so that she wouldn't be killed herself and that russians wouldn't destroy the body," the journalist wrote. According to her, Mantas died not on April 2, but earlier. At that point, his wife was already trying to take his body away through russia. The death of Kvedaravičius in the occupied Mariupol became known on April 3.

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova also reported on the circumstances of Mantas Kvedaravičius' death in Mariupol.

According to the Commissioner, he had been taken prisoner by ruscists, who later shot him. "The occupiers threw the filmmaker's body out into the street. His wife, risking her life, took the body out of the blockaded city and brought it to Lithuania. The real cause of the filmmaker's death has not been announced before for the sake of her safety," the statement reads.

Mantas Kvedaravičius was born in 1976. He received a Master's degree in cultural anthropology in Oxford University. In 2011, he made the documentary "Barzah" about the war-torn Chechnya. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and won the Amnesty International Award.

In 2016, he made a documentary "Mariupol" about the city, which had been at the forefront of the russian-Ukrainian war a year before. The film was screened at the Berlin Film Festival.

8. French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff killed by russian shelling in Luhansk region

30.05.2022 On May 30, journalist for the French BFMTV channel Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was killed in a russian shelling attack in Luhansk region.

Head of the Luhansk regional military-civil administration Serhiy Haidai announced this.

According to Haidai, russian troops fired on an evacuation vehicle that was on its way to pick up people.

The journalist received a fatal neck wound.

"Today, our armored evacuation vehicle was going to pick up 10 people from the region and came under enemy fire. Shrapnel from the shells pierced the car's armor, an accredited French journalist who had been covering the event received a fatal neck wound, a patrol policeman was saved by his helmet," Haidai wrote and announced the cessation of the evacuation.

9. Ukrainian producer for La Repubblica, Bohdan Bitik, killed by a Russian attack in Kherson

26.04.2023 The Russian attack on Kherson on April 26 killed the Ukrainian producer of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, Bohdan Bitik, who was working together with the newspaper's correspondent Corrado Zunino. The newspaper reported this on its website.

According to IMI's sources in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the Ukrainian man was part of the filming crew helmed by Corrado Zunino, who was wounded in the attack.

IMI's sources say that the Ukrainian had no bulletproof vest and was wearing only a vest with a "Press" nadge. The Italian correspondent, however, was wearing a bulletproof vest.

"We regard this situation as a war crime against journalists, committed by the Russians," said IMI executive Oksana Romaniuk.

According to the newspaper, the journalists were ambushed by Russian snipers near the bridge. Both had "Press" badges. According to Corrado, he was wearing a bulletproof vest with the inscription "Press".

"We passed three checkpoints, Bohdan talked to the Ukrainian military, they let us through without any issues. This was not a combat area. Then we were hit, I heard a hiss and saw Bohdan on the ground, he was not moving. I crawled out of the firing line. I ran until I saw a civilian car. I was covered in blood, they took me to the Kherson hospital. I have four wounds, but they gave me excellent treatment. I tried to call him several times. Bohdan, he did not pick up the phone. He was a great friend of mine," Corrado said.

Bohdan Bitik is survived by his wife and son.

According to IMI, Bohdan Bitik became the 54th media worker to die as a result of Russia's aggression (and the ninth media worker to die while performing journalistic work).

As reported by IMI, on April 26, the Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that their correspondent Corrado Zunino had been wounded in a Russian attack. At the time of the attack, he was with a fixer.

Law enforcers have started a pre-trial investigation into the wounding of Corrado Zunino, a reporter with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. A case for violation of the laws and customs of war (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) has been opened.

According to the investigation, on April 26, Russian troops opened fire in the area of the Antonivsky Bridge near Kherson, resulting in the death of a civilian. A foreign publication's correspondent who was working on a report about life in the city received a gunshot wound to the shoulder.

10. AFP reporter Arman Soldin dies in Ukraine's east

09.05.2023 Arman Soldin, a video reporter for the French news agency AFP, was killed by roket fire in the east of Ukraine on May 9.

This was reported on Twitter by AFP.

"We are devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine today. All of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones," the post reads.

The agency does not report the circumstances of the journalist's death.

Arman Soldin was killed by rocket fire near Chasiv Yar, according to his colleagues who witnessed the incident. The attack took place on the outskirts of the town near Bakhmut.

According to Lemonde, Arman Soldin and his colleagues from the AFP came under fire while they were with a group of Ukrainian soldiers. The attack happened at around 4:30 pm.

Soldin, 32, was killed when a rocket struck close to where he was lying. The rest of the team was uninjured.

"The whole agency is devastated by the loss of Arman," AFP chairman Fabrice Fries said. "His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine."

Born in Sarajevo, Soldin was a French national who began working for AFP as an intern in its Rome bureau in 2015 and was later hired in London. He was part of the first AFP team to be sent to Ukraine following the start of Russia's invasion on February 24, 2022, arriving on the following day. Soldin had been living in Ukraine since September, leading the team's video coverage and travelling regularly to the front lines in the east and south.

According to IMI, Arman Soldin is the 57th media worker to die as a result of Russia's aggression, and the 10th journalist to die while reporting.

Missing – 14

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, IMI has recorded at least 14 Mariupol journalists who had gone missing or out of contact. According to IMI, all 14 journalists managed to survive. Some have already left Mariupol – either to the territory controlled by Ukraine or abroad.

Capturing and abduction of journalists – 22

1. russian troops kidnap and torture Radio France fixer

05.03.2022 On March 5, the russian military abducted Nikita (name changed), Radio France fixer, in a village in central Ukraine, tortured him, and held him captive for nine days.

This was announced on March 21 by the human rights organization Reporters Without Borders, whose representatives spoke with the fixer after his release from captivity.

According to the organization, on March 8, they received a signal from Radio France about the disappearance of the fixer and began searching for him.

According to Nikita, he was beaten, felt his teeth crumble in his mouth, was tortured with electric shocks, kept in an ice-cold waterlogged cellar, interrogated, not given food for 48 hours. He was also thrown into a ditch next to a dead dog and went through a mock-execution: a soldier standing over a ditch fired and a bullet grazed his head. He was later taken to a forest and tied to a tree and interrogated for five days. He was then released.

According to doctors, Nikita suffered hematomas in the head and all over the body, swelling of the right leg and numbness of the limbs due to electric shocks. Noting that the injuries were caused by the russian army, the doctor concluded that Nikita had received a "criminal injury." He is recovering, and his family managed to flee.

Reporters note that the recorder's testimony was verified in a conversation with another prisoner released together with Nikita, Nikita's family, and Radio France journalists with whom Nikita worked before the abduction. The RSF will provide this testimony to the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor in addition to the two complaints they filed on March 4 and 16.

“Nikita has given us a chilling testimony that confirms the intensity of the war crimes perpetrated by the russian army against journalists,” RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said. “Passing his testimony on to the ICC prosecutor is the least we can do for this courageous young fixer.”

RSF shared Nikita's story:

On March 5, Nikita accompanied a visiting Radio France crew on a reporting trip in the centre of the country, not far from the village where his family had sought refuge. At the hotel where they stayed, he learned that the road to his family’s village was open. As the bombardments were intense in the region, he decided to make a quick trip to see if his family was still there and to evacuate them. He borrowed the crew’s car after removing all the equipment. He had to cross three villages to reach his destination. 

Nikita was ambushed by a russian reconnaissance unit on the edge of a roadside forest while driving with a “Press” sign displayed on the front of the car. He recounts between 30 and 40 shots being fired to his car by automatic weapons. Lying on his side, he accelerated with the aim of getting away but hit a tree. Saved by his airbag, he shouted that he was a civilian, showed his hands to prove that he was unarmed and got out of the car. He counted six soldiers with a white ribbon tied around their legs. They seized him and threw him to the ground, searched and beat him. He was mistaken for a soldier who inspected the area to adjust artillery fire.

The soldiers pulled a hat over his eyes and took him to a house a few minutes away from the place of detention. Searching his phone, they found information related to his work as a fixer – about looking for bulletproof vests and plotting routes – that made them suspicious. They pulled him from the house, slammed him up against an outside wall, pulled up his cap, brushed his eye with a knife blade, ran it down his cheek, and threatened to cut his face. He explained that he was a fixer and interpreter for foreign journalists, but they hit him repeatedly with automatic rifle butts, on the face and body. Nikita felt pieces of teeth in his mouth and coughed up blood. The soldiers threw him into a ditch, next to a dead dog, and subjected him to a mock execution:  a soldier pretended that he wanted to check that his gun worked and fired a shot that grazed Nikita's head.

The soldiers then took him to their camp in the forest about ten minutes' walk away. With his cap pulled over his eyes again, Nikita could not see but from what he heard the camp seemed to consist of more than 100 soldiers, armoured vehicles and artillery. They tied him to a tree, stole his wedding ring, and removed his shoes. That afternoon, the soldiers beat Nikita again with rifle butts and steel bars on his legs. He lost consciousness several times. He said the soldiers seemed to be doing this for amusement.

Blindfolded, half-stunned, Nikita was moved and tied to another tree, and later to yet another one. He spent nearly three days in the forest, tied with his hands behind his back to trees. On 6 March, he was interrogated by a soldier he understands to be a Colonel. Nikita was asked about his activities. He spent another two days tied up in the forest. They stopped beating him, and other civilians were tied next to him. One of them, who was later released at the same time as Nikita, was contacted by RSF and helped to corroborate his account.

Nikita, this other prisoner and a third one were taken in an armoured car on 8 March to a place about 40 minutes away. On arrival, soldiers pulled him out of the vehicle, threw him to the ground,  a soldier sat on his back and he was asked the same questions as in the forest. The soldiers thought he was a spy who was using his job as a fixer as a cover.

A soldier rolled Nikita’s right trouser up to the knee and another gave him electric shocks. With his face pressed to the ground, Nikita was unable to see what instrument was used to administer the electric shocks, but he counted three or four shocks, each lasting five to ten seconds. The pain was such that every second felt like an eternity. The other two civilians were also tortured. The one RSF contacted said that a bag was put over his head to prevent him from breathing, and that he was beaten very violently.

The soldiers forced Nikita to write and sign a letter in which he declared his support for the russian army and the invasion of Ukraine. He and the other two civilians were then taken – tied and blindfolded – to the basement of a house whose floor was filled with water. They were left there for two days until, after begging their guards to take them to a less cold place, they were finally moved. On 10 March, they were taken to the basement of another house, where they were joined by another prisoner, a former senior Ukrainian civil servant.

In this house, the four prisoners are interrogated by a different kind of soldier. Nikita was only able to see their legs and boots but this was enough for him to realise they were not members of combat units. Their clean, polished boots and ironed trousers suggested they might be FSB or GRU members.

On 12 March, the prisoners were told they would be released the next day. And on the 13th they were indeed driven away. Nikita was released in a forest after an hour’s drive. He thought they were going to execute him and he ran. But he heard no shots and reached a road. After being stopped by other russian soldiers on the road, he feared he was going to be kidnapped again. But he managed to get into a car of Ukrainian civilians. “If you don't take him,” a soldier told the reluctant civilians, “we'll shoot him on the spot."

Nikita still has bruises all over his body, a swollen leg and difficulty moving his hands as a result of the electric shocks. The doctor who examined him found hematomas on his head and body, a swelling of the right leg, and numbness of the limbs that could be the result of electric shocks. Noting that Nikita’s injuries were inflicted by the russian army, the doctor went so far as to conclude that he had sustained “criminal trauma.” Nikita is now recovering. His family was able to escape.

2. russian occupiers hold several British journalists hostage – Reznikov

08.03.2022 The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov said that the russian occupiers were holding foreign journalists hostage. This is stated in his address.

According to him, the journalists are being held hostage in Kyiv region.

"The occupiers are holding journalists hostage: British citizens are currently being held in the town of Stoyanka-2. A group was fired upon and another journalist, a British citizen, was wounded. One more journalist, a Swiss citizen, was fired upon and robbed in Mykolaiv region. Sadly, you still allow the occupiers to do so," the minister noted.

3. Journalist Oleh Baturyn goes missing in Kherson region

12.03.2022 Tonight in Kakhovka (Kherson region), local journalist Oleh Baturyn went missing.

His wife reported it to the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information.

According to her, at about 4 pm, an acquaintance called Oleh and proposed to meet him near a bus station which is located near the journalist's house.

"Around 4:30 pm, Oleg went to meet him, leaving his phone and documents at home. He promised to come back in 20 minutes. But he did not come back," she said.

According to local group chats, at about 4:50 p.m. on that day, russian troops were spotted near the bus station.

Oleh Baturyn works as a journalist for the "Novy Den" newspaper. 

We remind that in Kakhovka, there is no permanent russian troop presence, but the neighboring town Nova Kakhovka has been occupied. There, the invaders are attempting to create a military-civilian administration controlled by the russians.

4. Hromadske journalist Victoria Roshchina could be in russian captivity

18.03.2022 Hromadske journalist Victoria Roshchina is probably a prisoner of the russian invaders. The publication calls on the Ukrainian and international community to join efforts on the information field and by actions to contribute to the journalist's release, as Hromadske reported.

According to the publication, Roshchina has been filming videos and writing stories from hotspots in eastern and southern Ukraine every day of the russian-Ukrainian war. On March 11, the media posted an article in which she described the life of the temporarily occupied Enerhodar.

"These days, the journalist has been working on stories about military actions in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions. She was going to travel all the way to Mariupol to talk about what was really going on in the city, which has been shelled by russian troops every day for more than two weeks. On the evening of March 11, Victoria Roshchina was probably on her way from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol and had poor connection, so we could hardly speak on the phone. All that was known was that she had already left Enerhodar at that time," the newspaper reported.

On March 12, the editorial office was unable to contact Victoria. Some eye-witnesses, whom the publication did not name for the sake of their safety, said that she was in the temporarily occupied Berdyansk at the time.

On March 16, Hromadske learned that the day before (probably on March 15) Victoria Roshchina was detained by the FSB. 

"Currently, nothing is known about her whereabouts. Since last two days, we made every effort to release the journalist in a private manner. But it turned out to be ineffective," the publication notes. 

As reported by IMI, on March 8, Victoria Roshchina said that she came under russian fire in Zaporizhzhia. Her car, in which she was, was robbed.

5. In Melitopol, invaders kidnap Melitopolski Vidomosti journalists

21.03.2022 In Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, representatives of the occupation authorities abducted several employees of the "Melitopolski Vidomosti" (MV), according to the local newspaper RIA-Melitopol.

“Armed persons came to the houses of journalists Yulia Olkhovska and Lyubov Chaika, publisher Mykhailo Kumok, and editor-in-chief of the 'Melitopolski Vidomosti' newspaper Yevhenia Boryan, abducted them and took them away to an unknown destination. The russians are trying to force them into collaboration,” the report on the MV website reads. 

The MV website is currently down, but the media reported the abduction on their Telegram channel.

Representatives of the holding company appeal to the authorities in the city and the country, colleagues from the Ukrainian and international media to speak up in defense of Melitopol press representatives.

Update. According to IMI, the occupiers have already released Yevheniya Boryan. She had been taken away, interrogated, and then she came back.

The publication "Mistsevi Visti – Melitopol" reported on Facebook that the occupiers have released three MV female journalists after having talked to them about collaboration. "The whereabouts of Mykhailo Kumok are still unknown," the newspaper wrote.

We will remind, Melitopol is under the control of the russian troops. The city regularly protests against the russian invasion.

Earlier, the occupiers abducted Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov and public figure Olha Haisumova.

6. "RIA-Melitopol" journalist's father taken hostage by the invaders

23.03.2022 In Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia region), the russian invaders took hostage the father of Svitlana Zalizetska, director of the “Holovna Gazeta Melitopolya” (Melitopol Main Newspaper) and the RIA-Melitopol website. The journalist asked IMI to make this incident public.

According to RIA-Melitopol, three invaders came to the journalist's house with a search at 7 am on March 23.

Retired parents - mother and father - were in the house. One of the occupiers was in civilian clothes, and two soldiers with machine guns. Everything was turned upside down in the house. They took the 75-year-old father of Zalizetsky, Yosyp Stanislavovych, in an unknown direction. The only requirement is to return home only after the daughter comes to them. The occupiers ignored the explanation that their daughter was not in the city. Relatives are trying to find out whereabouts of Svitlana Zalizetska's father, but nobody is willing to talk to them about this.

"I regard such actions of the occupying forces of the russian federation as terrorism. When they abducted my old father, they try to make me collaborate or demand that the site be shut down. The occupiers found documents – a Karta Poliaka – and began to ask my mother everything about relatives in Poland. Earlier, Halyna Danylchenko (a collaborator, head of the occupation administration of the city of Melitopol. - Ed. ) рad a preliminary "preventive" talk with me. The next meeting was to be with the commandant. The outcome was predictable, so I left the town. Otherwise, I would be sitting in the torture chambers of the occupiers' casemates, such as Mayor Ivan Fedorov, public activist Olha Haisumova and Serhiy Pryima, who is still being held captive," Svitlana Zalizetska said.

She appealed to all colleagues from the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine and international organizations to make the incident public and to help release her father from captivity. 

"He suffered a stroke, his mother suffered a major heart attack with cardiac arrest. I consider such methods of influence to be the Nazist ones. If something happens to my parents, it will be on the conscience of the occupiers, "said Svitlana Zalizetska.

We will remind, on March 21 the russian occupiers abducted all staff edition of MV-holding then its head Mikhail Kumok made the decision to suspend work of all holding.

7. russian invaders capture Zaporizhzhia journalist Iryna Dubchenko

28.03.2022 Zaporizhzhia journalist Iryna Dubchenko has been detained by the russian occupiers and taken to Donetsk. She was arrested in Rozivka, where she had been looking after her old grandmother. This was reported by journalist Yakov Noskov.

Dubchenko is accused of assisting and hiding Ukrainian soldiers. According to Noskov, she had been ratted out to the occupiers by locals.

"Ira is accused of assisting and hiding Ukrainian soldiers. They say that earlier, the DPR people massacred several UAF soldiers who were being treated at a local medical institution. Ira was ratted out by locals. At present, she has been sent out to Donetsk for some “investigative measures,” as Noskov reported.

Irina Dubchenko worked for the newspapers "Subota plus", "Politsovet", Depo.Zaporizhzhia website, and the UNIAN news agency. 

8. Invaders abduct journalist Oleksander Hunko in Kherson region

03.04.2022 On April 3, in Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, russian invaders abducted and deported Oleksander Hunko, a local journalist and writer, editor of the "Nova Kakhovka City" online media, and took him away in an unknown direction.

The journalist’s daughter Oksana Hunko told it, according to the head of the regional organization of the Committee of Voters of Ukraine who said it on Facebook.

According to the daughter, prior to that, the journalist's apartment had been searched.

A few hours before the arrival of the armed russians, the publication "New Kakhovka City" had published a story about the violent suppression of a peaceful rally in Kakhovka by the invaders.

9. russian occupiers abduct "Suspilne Kherson" engineer Oleksiy Vorontsov

18.05.2022 On May 16 in the temporarily occupied Kherson, the occupying forces of the russian federation abducted "Suspilne Kherson" engineer Oleksiy Vorontsov from his apartment. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

This was reported to the company's management by Oleksiy's wife, according to Suspilne.

The public broadcaster appeals to the Ukrainian authorities and the international community to comprehensively and in all possible ways facilitate the release of Oleksiy Vorontsov.

The company filed a criminal offense report to the Joint Center for Coordination of Search and Release of Persons Illegally Imprisoned as a Result of Armed Aggression of the Russian Federation and to the District Prosecutor's Office of Kherson region.

Suspilne notes that since March 2, 2022, the UA: Kherson team has been working remotely and is the one Ukrainian media in the region which continues to provide the residents of the temporarily occupied territories with truthful information.

As of now, the premises of "Suspilne Kherson" are controlled by the occupying russian forces. The occupiers have repeatedly attempted a search for the branch employees' personal files in order to recruit, interrogate and obtain information from them.

As IMI reported, the russian troops robbed the Kherson branch of Suspilne and are now setting up a propaganda channel.

On March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has launched a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by russian security forces. The proceedings have been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

10. russian occupiers in Kherson kidnap patriotic blogger Olena Naumova

23.08.2022 In the temporarily occupied Kherson, the russian military has kidnapped patriotic TikTok blogger and kindergarten teacher Olena Naumova. Her son Mykola told Suspilne about this.

The man says that they heard nothing from his mother for two days.

"I know that people in uniform and carrying machine guns came and took her away. She is an ordinary person, I don't know what is there to demand from her. I know for sure that it was a kidnapping, because the neighbors saw it," said Mykola Naumov.

According to the son, his mother was kidnapped from her own home around 11:00 on August 23.

Olena Naumova filmed TikTok videos in which she talked about life under occupation and also expressed support for Ukraine.

Nothing is known about the woman's fate.

On September 7, the woman was released, as reported by journalist Osman Pashayev and her son Mykola Naumov.

"Olena has been released. I ask you not to visit her, because, first of all, she is not at home. And secondly, she is being stalked, and visits will create problems," Naumov wrote.

He once again urged not to look for her and not to draw attention to her in the city, as she is preparing to leave the occupied Kherson.

11. Journalist Dmytro Khylyuk is being held in a Bryansk pre-trial detention center – human rights activist

12.09.2022 UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khylyuk, who went missiong in Kyiv oblast in spring the Russian occupation, is being held in a pre-trial detention center in Bryansk, Russian Federation.

Media Initiative for Human Rights coordinator Olha Reshetylova spoke with Hromadske about this.

"After interviewing Volodymyr Khrypun, a Red Cross volunteer who had been released from captivity, we found out that journalist Dmytro Khylyuk is being held in a detention center in Bryansk. Volodymyr heard his last name at a roll call, he didn't even see him. But when we started making this information public, the Russians stopped calling them by their last names and assigned them numbers instead," said Olha Reshetylova.

The International Committee of the Red Cross should have confirmed the whereabouts of the prisoners, but its representatives do not have access to the colonies and pretrial detention centers where Ukrainians are being illegally held.

As IMI reported, on March 28, journalist Natalia Bohuta reported that Dmytro Khylyuk had gone missing and was probably being held captive by the Russian military. Despite the Kyiv oblast having been liberated from the Russian occupiers, UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khylyuk was not found, and there has been no contact with him since early March of this year.

12. Russian troops kidnap Kakhovska Zorya editor Zhanna Kyselyova

19.09.2022 Russian troops kidnapped Zhanna Kyselyova, the editor of the Kakhovska Zorya newspaper. This was reported by the Kakhovka city territorial community.

Along with Kyselova, the Russians also kidnapped local resident Iryna Razumey.

They were kidnapped in the morning of September 19 from their apartments in the same building in the center of Kakhovka.

Zhanna Kyselyova headed the district newspaper for many years and fought for its denationalization.

In 2020, she was elected a Kakhovka City Council deputy.

According to the regional representative of IMI, as of yesterday morning, her fate remained unknown.

We remind that Kakhovka, Kherson oblast, has been under Russian occupation since March.

13. Russians held a journalist in an "LPR MSS" torture basement while occupying new cities of Luhansk oblast

22.09.2022 While occupying new territories of Luhansk oblast, the Russian troops detained a journalist from a local media oultet and kept her in the premises of the so-called "LPR MSS" for several days.

The detained journalist, whose name we are withholding for safety reasons, told an IMI representative about this in a private conversation.

According to the journalist, she stopped working immediately after her town was occupied in February. However, this did not save her from being detained. After a few weeks of occupation, the Russians took her to Luhansk for questioning and kept her there for some time, only letting her go back to her town later.

According to the journalist, the occupiers mainly asked her about her other colleagues from her town or others.

The occupiers offered her three options: prison, deportation, collaboration.

Out of fear, the woman chose "collaboration." However, as soon as she was released, she was able to tell her colleagues in the free territory what had happened to her. In a few months, the journalist managed to escape from the occupation.

The journalist is not ready to tell her story publicly yet due to fear for her family. The town is still occupied.

14. Russians held another journalist in an "LPR MSS" torture basement while occupying new cities of Luhansk oblast

22.09.2022 While occupying new territories of Luhansk oblast, the Russian troops detained a journalist from a local media oultet and kept her in the premises of the so-called "LPR MSS" for several days.

One of the detained journalists, whose name we are withholding for safety reasons, told an IMI representative about this in a private conversation.

According to the journalist, her colleague is also from a small town. The Russian occupiers detained her outside her home in April and told her to follow them. Others took the phones and working equipment from her home. She was taken to the local "LPR MSS" branch, and later to Luhansk. They spent six hours questioning her about her life, work, salary, and social circle. After the interrogation, she ended up in a cell with her colleague, the third journalist whose detention is now known.

As soon as they were released, they were able to tell their colleagues in the free territory what had happened to them. In a few months, the women managed to escape from the occupation.

Our colleagues are not ready to tell their stories publicly yet due to fear for their families. These towns are still occupied.

15. One more journalist detained in a "LPR MSS" torture prison by the Russians

22.09.2022 While occupying new territories of Luhansk oblast, the Russian troops detained another (third) journalist from a local media oultet and kept her in the premises of the so-called "LPR MSS" for several days.

One of the detained journalists, whose name we are withholding for safety reasons, told an IMI representative about this in a private conversation.

After the interrogation, she ended up in a cell with her colleague, the third journalist whose detention is now known.

The occupiers offered the women three options: prison, deportation, collaboration.

As soon as they were released, the journalists were able to tell their colleagues in the free territory what had happened to them. In a few months, the women managed to escape from the occupation.

Our colleagues are not ready to tell their stories publicly yet due to fear for their families. These towns are still occupied.

16. Russians in Kherson kidnap patriotic blogger Olena Naumova again

23.09.2022 Russians in Kherson kidnapped patriotic blogger Olena Naumova, who filmed TikTok videos in which she talked about life under occupation and also expressed support for Ukraine, again. The occupiers forced her to record a video of herself "repenting."

Valery Komahorov and his girlfriend, whom the propaganda channel's host calls "Olegivna 29," are also among the abducted. Propaganda TV channel Perviy Respublikansky, which speaks from occupied Donetsk, called them online extremists.

On August 23, the Russian military kidnapped Olena Naumova from her home in temporarily occupied Kherson. She was released on September 6.

Her son has confirmed that she has been kidnapped again. According to Mykola, on September 19, representatives of the occupation authorities (Mykola calls them "curators") asked Olena if she was ready to leave for the free Ukrainian territory. The woman agreed, and her relatives have not seen her since.

In the propaganda video, Naumova, a bruise under her eye, apologizes for insulting the Russian military – in Russian, which has been uncharacteristic for her lately.

"The actions of the mentioned persons were not detrimental to the 'state security of Kherson oblast,' therefore, after an according talk, they were issued an official warning," the host said.

We remind that Olena Naumova filmed TikTok videos in which she talked about life under occupation and also expressed support for Ukraine.

17. Russians kidnap a Kherson blogger and force him to film a "repentance" video

23.09.2022 Russians in Kherson kidnapped blogger Valery Komahorov who had been running a pro-Ukrainian TikTok channel koshmarik_olegivna29 together with his girlfriend, another blogger called Olegivna 29.

Propaganda TV channel Perviy Respublikansky, which speaks from occupied Donetsk, called the kidnapped online extremists. They ran a blog on Instagram, which is banned in Russia; the host called it "a hotbed of Russophobia and Ukrainian extremism." Later, they made TikTok accounts.

Their blog was quite popular, and their videos were getting a lot of views.

"The actions of the mentioned persons were not detrimental to the 'state security of Kherson oblast,' therefore, after an according talk, they were issued an official warning," the host said.

He also added that in case of further "public activity" they would face criminal liability.

18. Russians kidnap another Kherson blogger and force her to film a "repentance" video

23.09.2022 Russians in Kherson kidnapped blogger Olegivna 29 who had been running a pro-Ukrainian TikTok channel koshmarik_olegivna29 together with her boyfriend, another blogger called Valery Komahorov.

Propaganda TV channel Perviy Respublikansky, which speaks from occupied Donetsk, called the kidnapped online extremists. They ran a blog on Instagram, which is banned in Russia; the host called it "a hotbed of Russophobia and Ukrainian extremism." Later, they made TikTok accounts.

Their blog was quite popular, and their videos were getting a lot of views.

"The actions of the mentioned persons were not detrimental to the 'state security of Kherson oblast,' therefore, after an according talk, they were issued an official warning," the host said.

He also added that in case of further "public activity" they would face criminal liability.

19. Militants in occupied Starobilsk kidnap former Luhansk Energy Association spokeswoman

13.10.2022 In temporarily occupied Starobilsk, militants of the "LPR" group have kidnapped Yulia Rybalka, who once was the press secretary of the Luhansk Energy Association LLC.

This is reported by Starobilski Novyny.

The militants accuse the woman of "leaking information for directing missile attacks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine."

This is reported by Russian propaganda resources, which published a video of Yulia answering the invaders' questions during an interrogation.

According to pro-Russian propaganda media, the woman is being accused of "gathering information for the Ukrainian special services," namely "for the purpose of aiming the fire to hit civilian objects" in the "LPR." The occupiers threaten the woman with 20 years in prison.

As IMI reported, Russia has officially confirmed the detention of human rights activist Maksym Butkevych.

20. "They were trying to crush us," says journalist about living in a Russian torture camp in Kherson

10.11.2022 Angela Slobodyan, journalist for the now closed TRC "Ukraina", said that she had been kept in a Russian isolated cell in occupied Kherson and spoke about the invaders abusing their captives and torturing Ukrainian POWs.

She wrote about it on her Facebook page. Angela Slobodyan confirmed to IMI that she consents to the story of her Russian captivity being published, but without the details.

She spent about a month in a Kherson detention center which the Russians turned into a torture camp. "Psych ward No. 6. That's what we called our cell No. 6 in the Kherson detention center. Faina, Olya, Svitlana, Natalya, and I as the patients, supervised by our torturers. No, they did not beat us. They had other kinds of 'injections' for women. They tried to humiliate and crush us. Ruthlessly," she wrote.

According to Slobodyan, they could hear the occupiers kill a prisoner and then wrap his body in plastic (the Kadyrovites "overdid it" while interrogating him), could hear them raping men outside the cell door.

"We knew where our lads were being tortured with electric current, where they were being beaten and where they were being forced to talk. Black shadows in the moonlight. They don't know what pain is. They inject droplets of their toxins into everything that lives. Wretched creatures. Horrifying experience. To live... We, the Psych Ward No.6 patients, started every new day with the thought that WE MUST SURVIVE. Not everyone did," Angela Slobodyan recalls.

The girl said that her 66-year-old roommate Faina had a stroke and died. The woman had been taken prisoner because her son was a volunteer.

Two more women were detained "because of who their husband and brother were."

"Svitlanka. We shared a bunk bed with her. There were three beds for five people. Svitlana had been 'taken away' because of her husband. They let her go because 'they didn't need her anymore.' Took her out for questioning and said, 'your husband has been killed, you are free to go.' Another life broken. Olya. A teacher. They released her on day 33. Didn't question her once. She was being held captive because of her brother," the journalist said.

Angela was released from the detention center after 30 days in captivity. "I was constantly imagining myself getting out, no longer hearing the noise of the metal gate... leaving everything behind... The next day, I was standing at the gate. Took a friend along and brought a 'package' for my folks. Natalya. They kept her there for almost 4 months. Bogus accusations. Today I learned that she had gotten out of the torture camp. Now we are in different cities in Ukraine. Our Psych Ward No. 6 will meet again, albeit not in full. But we will for sure. In our Kherson, freed from evil. We have faith!" she added.

According to the journalist's information, which she received from those who had been "evacuated" from the Kherson detention center, the Kherson Mayor, Ihor Kolykhayev, is currently in custody in Kalanchak. He lost a lot of weight, has some health problems.

She was also told that 36 people were "evacuated" from the Kherson detention center. "From Hola Prystan to Novotroitske. Took them two weeks to move everybody. As they were doing it, they left 3 women in Kherson, I know their names, I will pass them on to the Prosecutor's office. People are being held in the police station. The occupiers are letting the detainees go without documents, money, or phones," Angela Slobodyan wrote.

21. 69 year old blogger from Kharkiv oblast spent over 100 days in Russian captivity

16.01.2023 The Russian occupiers had been holding Anatoliy Garagatyi, a 69 year old video blogger from the Savyntsi hromada (Kharkiv oblast), captive, reports "Slobidskyi Kray".

On March 2, he filmed a Russian tank convoy entering Savintsy and posted the video on social media. His wife, who always supported him in everything, started persuading him to stop filming the consequences of the Russians' stay in Savintsy. But Anatoly did not agree to this. Still, he moved to his dacha, hoping that the occupiers would not find him there.

The man was detained on May 28 at 6 a.m. He was visited by eight armed Russian soldiers with their faces covered.

The man managed to run into the barn and hide behind a pile of firewood. However, the Russians still found him and searched every corner of both his dacha and his apartment. They took away his video equipment and everything that caught their eye. They accused Anatoliy of adjusting the UAF artillery fire. The man denied the accusations.

He was first interrogated in the village council's garage, where he was thrown with a promise that an investigator would arrive soon. The investigator, unlike the men who had searched Anatoliy's home, had his face open and asked Anatoliy whether he had been giving the Russian troops' coordinates to the Ukrainian military. Unable to get the right answer out of him, the investigator ordered for electric wires to be attached to Anatoliy Gargatyi's toes and for the man to be tased through them. After the second "shock", Garagatyi fainted.

As soon as the man came to his senses, a sack was thrown over his head, and he was thrown into a car and driven to another barn – in Balaklia.

"My wife, having found out where I am, made five unsuccessful attempts to send me food and personal hygiene items. The Russians only approved of the last two packages. To top it all off, our fellow villagers turned their backs on her, afraid to taint their reputation by ties with the wife of an "undesirable" person and thereby share his fate. She became socially isolated. It was hard to bear the sidelong glances, the ostentatious silence, the outright silent treatment," the man recalls.

Cell No.3 in the Balaklia detention center at the local police department became Anatoliy's place of imprisonment for 100 days. The occupiers put eight prisoners in a cell designed for three people. In the summer, the cell was suffocating and cramped. The prisoners were fed plain porridge. They saw the sun for five minutes a day, while being taken to the toilet. Anatoliy Gargatyi lost 10 kilograms of weight during his captivity. Before being kidnapped, he weighed over 70 kg. On September 4, two days before the liberation of Balaklia, Anatoliy Gargatyi and another man from their cell were unexpectedly released. At the same time, the Russians threatened the blogger with death if he picked up a video camera even once.

Anatoliy Gorgatyi's home, like those of most Savintsy residents, remained intact.

"Of course, one can't forget living without gas for five months and cooking food in the open air, having no electricity for a month and a half in a row and living on generators. But that's all in the past now. Even my dacha survived. There were 'hits' indeed. A five-story building downtown was damaged, but the suburbs suffered more. There are many houses with crushed roofs. Three houses near the railway, where the Russian occupiers made a checkpoint, have also been significantly damaged. The 'Russian world' left a 'noticeable trace' in a village named Rakivka as well," the man says.

22. Occupiers in Melitopol kidnap journalist Iryna Levchenko and her husband

30.05.2023 Local journalist Iryna Levchenko and her husband Oleksandr have been kidnapped in temporarily occupied Melitopol (Zaporizhia oblast). This information was confirmed by IMI's own sources in the city.

According to the sources, the occupiers detained the couple on the street, first keeping them together and then separating them. Their current whereabouts are unknown. Iryna and her husband have been retired for several years.

Iryna's sister, Olena Rudenko, told the Center for Journalistic Investigations that the couple has not been in contact since May 6.

According to Olena, the couple's acquaintances started searching for the Levchenkos after they stopped getting in touch. Another difficulty in finding out what happened to the family is that the occupiers require the people coming to the "commandant's office" to ask questions about the abducted to be their close relatives. Iryna and Oleksandr have none in the occupied area.

The Levchenkos were last in contact on May 5. It was probable that Iryna and Oleksandr had gone to their dacha in the Melitopol suburbs for the weekend and have no mobile connection, or to the cemetery on the city's outskirts to tend to the graves of their relatives, or that they had just gone for a ride. So it was only three days later that the relatives started sounding the alarm.

"We went to their dacha – there was no one there. The apartments are locked, the bicycles are in place. We can't know for sure what happened to Iryna and Sasha!" said Olena.

Their friends tried to learn something about the Levchenkos' fate from the occupying "law enforcers", but they were told that this information will only be provided to close relatives. All their relatives have left the occupied territories, however.

Currently, the family has fairly approximate information about the fate of the abducted couple. On the first day, the Levchenkos were supposedly kept in a building on Chernyshevsky Street, where the occupiers are using as an office for one of their law enforcement structures.

Then Iryna was taken somewhere else, and Oleksandr remained. He is allegedly accused of "terrorism".

The relatives did not report on the disappearance of the Levchenkos at first, hoping that they would be released, but now they are asking for maximum publicity, as they consider all the accusations to be absurd.

"Of course, it's nonsense, what kind of terrorism a couple of retirees could have committed", say the family's friends, who do not lose hope that Iryna and Oleksandr will come back home shortly.

Iryna Levchenko has been a journalist since 1981. She worked for large-circulation newspapers, for the Melitopol district newspaper "Novy Den", was a correspondent for regional and national printed media.

She has not been working as a journalist in recent years due to family circumstances, and is now in retirement.

Oleksandr Levchenko used to work at the Melitopol tractor hydraulic units factory and an engine factory. After retirement, he devoted most of his time to the dacha.

As IMI reported, on March 13, 2022, the Melitopol city and district newspaper "Novy Den" stopped printing. As IMI learned later, the occupiers eventually appropriated the editorial office.

Information about the disappearance of Iryna Levchenko and her husband has also been posted by the Telegram channel "Missing in Melitopol".

Wounded journalists – 24

1. Danish journalist shot in Sumy region

26.02.2022 A journalist of the Danish tabloid Ekstra-Bladet Stefan Weichert was wounded while reporting from eastern Ukraine on Saturday, Reuters reported.

He came under fire together with his colleage, photographer Emil Filtenborg Mikkelsen, while driving in Okhtyrka, about 90 km northwest of Kharkiv, Ekstra-Bladet reported.

"This is a terrible reminder of the danger that journalists in Ukraine face every day to document the horrors of war," Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod wrote on Twitter.

The journalists were taken to the Poltava Regional Clinical Hospital, where they underwent surgery.

According to the head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Dmitry Lunin, the citizens of Denmark had received moderate injuries. Currently their condition is stable.

According to "Fakty," the journalists had been wearing bulletproof vests. They were in the Okhtyrka area when their car came under fire.

Weichert and Mikkelsen have been living in Ukraine for two years. Both are experienced journalists and have received the necessary safety training in Denmark.

According to the National Guard, representatives of the Danish embassy were informed about the state of health of the foreign journalists.

2. Danish photographer shot in Sumy region

26.02.2022 A photographer for the Danish tabloid Ekstra-Bladet Emil Filtenborg Mikkelsen was wounded while reporting from eastern Ukraine on Saturday, Reuters reported.

He came under fire together with his colleage, journalist Stefan Weichert, while driving in Okhtyrka, about 90 km northwest of Kharkiv, Ekstra-Bladet reported.

3. Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay wounded by russian fire in Kyiv region

28.02.2022 russian troops fired at foreign journalists near the village of Stoyanka in Kyiv region.

This was reported by Ukrinform with reference to the regional police on Facebook. 

"On February 28, at about 4 pm, the russian military fired at a car with five employees of the British TV channel Sky News. It happened near Stoyanka village in the Bucha district," the report said.

It is noted that the media workers immediately jumped out of the car and hid in the nearest shelter, from which they were later evacuated by employees of the Bucha District Police Department.

One of the media representatives was taken to hospital by police, where he received first aid. He later joined his colleagues.

The police clarified that the group of journalists includes four citizens of Great Britain and one citizen of Ukraine.

A correspondent of the British TV channel Sky News Stuart Ramsay was injured in a shelling by russian troops in Bucha, Kyiv region, on February 28. The channel's cameraman Richie Mokler was saved by his bulletproof vest.

This was reported by Suspilne with reference to Sky News.

"Chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his team were attacked near Kyiv. Cameraman Richie Mokler received two shots in a bulletproof vest, Stuart was wounded," the channel writes. A group of five media persons has already been sent to the UK.

Journalists said that after the trip to Bucha they tried to find a way back to Kyiv.

"The windshield cracked from the first shot. Cameraman Richie Mokler shrank in the front passenger's legroom. Then we came under full attack. Bullets pierced the entire car, tracers, flashes of bullets – the windshield, the plastic seats, the steering wheel, and the dashboard shattered," the media said.

At first they thought they were under false fire from a Ukrainian checkpoint. However, the Ukrainians later explained to reporters that they had been ambushed by russian saboteurs.

In the end, all five members of the film crew managed to survive and reach a safe place by hiding behind the concrete fence of a neighboring building.

"Their experience illustrates the scale of the chaos and violence as the russian invasion enters a new and more deadly phase," the paper said.

4. Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet wounded by russian gunfire

06.03.2022 The head of the Kirovohrad regional state administration Maria Chorna reported that the occupiers had attacked Swiss journalist Guillaume Briquet: the militants had fired on his car and took his belongings.

Maria Chorna reported about it on Telegram, Hromadske writes.

The russian military fired at the journalist near the settlement of Vodiano-Lorine, Mykolaiv region.

According to Briquet, after crossing the Ukrainian checkpoint, he headed south in his official car and was fired upon by the occupying forces from close range just a few minutes later. At the same time, the occupiers could clearly see the "press" sign on the car.

After the shooting, the journalist immediately turned to the roadside. The russian troops approached him, named themselves and searched him. The passport, 3,000 euros in cash, personal belongings, the helmet, the camera footage and the laptop were taken from the media person.

After that, the journalist was released, got into the car and drove in the direction of Kropyvnytskyy to receive medical treatment. According to the head of the regional state administration, the journalist had shrapnel wounds. He arrived at Kropyvnytskyy Hospital in the evening of March 6.

According to the National Police, several bullets hit the glass as a result of the shooting, injuring the journalist. He suffered injuries to his face and forearms.

The russian troops fired at his armored car when he was driving towards Mykolaiv. After the car was stopped, the russian invaders took the documents, money, photos, video equipment, the laptop and other valuable things from the Swiss citizen and released him.

The injured journalist left for the Kirovohrad region as soon as possible. The wounded man was met at the checkpoint by Kropyvnytskyy police, who helped the man to get to a medical facility where he was provided with medical care.

5. Radio Liberty correspondent Maryan Kushnir injured in a missile strike

11.03.2022 Radio Liberty correspondent Maryan Kushnir was injured in a missile strike near Kyiv. He announced this on his Instagram on the morning of March 11.

"This is the current situation in Kyiv region, we will try to get out," Maryan said in a seconds-long video which was captioned "Alive. Everything is ok."

The video shows blood trickling from his ear.

A few hours later, Maryan recorded another video, where he said that he had been injured, and received help from doctors. Feels fine, keeps working.

According to Radio Liberty, Maryan Kushnir was injured in a strike by russian troops in Kyiv region.

According to Kushnir, the missile strike or air strike took place at about 3:00 am on March 11 in Baryshivka. There are other victims of the attack, but the exact number is unknown. No one was killed.

Army medics and Baryshivka doctors provided first aid to the Radio Liberty correspondent. Now his condition is satisfactory.

Maryan Kushnir has been working for Radio Liberty since 2015, and is now actively covering events related to the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly in Kyiv region.

6. russian terrorists wound American journalist Juan Arredondo

13.03.2022 In Irpin, near Kyiv, the russian invaders shot dead The New York Times correspondent Brent Renaud and wounded another journalist. This was reported by Kyiv Police Chief Andriy Nebytov.

"Today, a 51-year-old correspondent working for the world-famous New York Times was shot dead in Irpin. Another journalist was wounded. Now the victim is being taken away from the combat zone. Naturally, the journalist's profession involves some risks, but the US citizen Brent Renaud paid the price of his life for trying to cover the villainy, cruelty, and ruthlessness of the aggressor," Andriy Nebytov wrote.

According to the Okhmatdyt Hospital's spokeswoman Anastasia Magerramova, the injured journalist, American citizen Juan Diego Herrera Arredondo, 46 years old, was conscious. The man received a shrapnel wound in his thigh. He has been operated by Okhmatdyt medics. He does not know of his colleague's fate yet. The last thing he remembers is Brent Renaud being shot in the neck at a russian checkpoint.

7. Fox News journalist gets legs broken by russian shelling

14.03.2022 Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall, who has been covering the war in Ukraine for the past weeks, was hospitalized with wounds sustained on March 14 while reporting on the developments near Kyiv.

This was announced by Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott, as European Pravda reported.

"We have a minimal level of details right now, but Ben is hospitalized and our teams on the ground are working to gather additional information as the situation quickly unfolds," Suzanne Scott said.

"The safety of our entire team of journalists in Ukraine and the surrounding regions is our top priority and extremely important," Scott added. 

Earlier, Fox News presenter John Roberts reported about the journalist's injuries during the broadcast, Ukrinform reports.

"A Fox News journalist has been wounded while reporting from near Kyiv," Roberts said. He added that few details were known about the incident. The channel's team is trying to learn more.

In the evening of March 14, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova reported that a foreign journalist had received a shrapnel fracture on both legs as a result of shelling by russian troops. She published the journalist's ID showing the name of Fox News, an American television channel.

According to the Prosecutor General, the journalist is in intensive care at the hospital.

"Fragmentary fracture of the two lower extremities - "russian world" diagnosis made by Ukrainian doctors to a British journalist. The journalist is currently in intensive care under medical supervision. […] Once again, I would like to address our partners: a citizen of your country was on the territory of Ukraine, performing an editorial task. His diagnosis is above. This man was not at the military facility, which, according to russian officials, they are constantly targeting. While not at the military facility, he was seriously injured," Venediktova wrote. 

The information about the crime has been entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations (ERDR), and this procedure will be properly investigated, the Prosecutor General said

8. 1+1 journalist Andriy Tsaplienko receives a shell fragment wound

25.03.2022 "1+1" TV channel's “TSN. Tyzhden” journalist Andriy Tsaplienko received a shrapnel wound. He wrote about this on March 25 on FacebookTSN reports.

According to him, the injury is not serious. He did not provide other details.

"Got myself into trouble. Got a small shrapnel wound. The doctor promised it would heal before the victory, ” the journalist wrote.

According to 1+1 media, Tsaplienko was wounded in the evening of March 25 during a shelling by russian troops of a column of civilians in the Chernihiv region. 

Foreign journalists from the English-language channel TRT World (Turkey) and a special correspondent of TSN (1+1), Honored Journalist of Ukraine Andriy Tsaplienko were in the fired column. They performed an editorial task, recording the holding of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians to a safe area.

"It happened today, March 25, at about 4:50 p.m., during the shelling of the humanitarian corridor to Chernihiv. There were many civilians and cars waiting for permission to cross into Chernihiv to pick up their relatives. After the drone recorded a crowd, 15 minutes later the shelling began. First they started firing from Smerch (heavy multiple rocket launcher), then from 122 mm caliber artillery, then a mortar was connected, and at the final stage it was a tank. All this lasted at least an hour and a half," Andriy Tsaplienko said. 

Together with Tsaplienko there was the TV film crew of the English-language channel TRT World. "Despite the fact that their colleagues are experienced military journalists, they were shocked, because for the first time they found themselves under such heavy artillery fire. As well as shocked by the brutality of the russian military towards the civilian population," said the journalist. 

Now Andriy is on an IV: "The doctors said the wound was A-grade. This means that everything will be fine and I am very lucky."

We remind that, according to IMI, during a month of full-scale invasion of the russian federation into Ukraine (from February 24 to March 24) at least seven journalists were wounded as a result of attacks by the russian occupiers.

9. russian troops severely injure cameraman Oleksander Navrotskyy

26.93.2022 Cameraman Oleksander Navrotskyy received a severe leg injury on the front line. As he was filming, Navrotsky came under fire from the enemy's multiple rockets launcher "Grad" in Kyiv region. This was announced by director Volodymyr Sydko.

"Oleksander is now in a satisfactory condition at the hospital, but getting him on his feet – literally – requires expensive treatment and rehabilitation. We, his closest friends, will do everything possible to get him back in line, but we need your help. I ask you all, as I have never asked anyone: help! I understand that during this cynical war, not everyone can afford it, but even a few hryvnias will come in handy! Below are the bank details of Oleksander and his dad. Maximum repost! Endlessly grateful to all."

10. Fixer Mykola Pastukh injured by russian fire in Luhansk region

28.05.2022 Two foreign journalists and Ukrainian filmmaker Mykola Pastukh came under russian fire on May 28 near the bridge to Severodonetsk (Luhansk region). As a result of the shelling, Mykola Pastukh received a shrapnel wound to his right arm, and one of the journalists was injured.

Mykola Pastukh told IMI about this.

According to Mykola, he was working with foreign journalists Kaoru Ng (Hong Kong / UK) and Alex Chan Tsz Yuk (UK). Mykola was also filming a documentary about the work of foreign media at the frontline.

Journalists planned to cross the bridge to Severodonetsk and tried to find out if it was safe. At that time, the Ukrainian military approached them and warned of possible shelling. The shelling began just as they were talking to the military.

As a result of the shelling, Mykola was wounded, and Alex Chan Tsz Yuk was injured.

"It hit just as we decided to go back. A mine fell six or seven meters away from me. I received a severe shrapnel wound. I was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet. However, the explosion blew my helmet off. Everyone had medical tourniquets, but they could not be applied to the part where I was wounded, because it was too high," Mykola Pastukh said.

Mykola is currently in hospital in Lviv, awaiting surgery.

11. Foreign journalist receives concussion due to russian fire in Luhansk region

28.05.2022 Two foreign journalists and Ukrainian filmmaker Mykola Pastukh came under russian fire on May 28 near the bridge to Severodonetsk (Luhansk region). As a result of the shelling, Mykola Pastukh received a shrapnel wound to his right arm, and one of the journalists was injured.

Mykola Pastukh told IMI about this.

According to Mykola, he was working with foreign journalists Kaoru Ng (Hong Kong / UK) and Alex Chan Tsz Yuk (UK). Mykola was also filming a documentary about the work of foreign media at the frontline.

Journalists planned to cross the bridge to Severodonetsk and tried to find out if it was safe. At that time, the Ukrainian military approached them and warned of possible shelling. The shelling began just as they were talking to the military.

As a result of the shelling, Mykola was wounded, and Alex Chan Tsz Yuk was injured.

"It hit just as we decided to go back. A mine fell six or seven meters away from me. I received a severe shrapnel wound. I was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet. However, the explosion blew my helmet off. Everyone had medical tourniquets, but they could not be applied to the part where I was wounded, because it was too high," Mykola Pastukh said.

Mykola is currently in hospital in Lviv, awaiting surgery.

12. French BFMTV journalist Maxim Brandstetter wounded by russian shelling

30.05.2022 On May 30, journalist for the French BFMTV channel Maxim Brandstetter (French citizen), along with the channel's fixer Oksana Leuta (Ukrainian citizen), was injured due to a russian artillery strike on Lysychansk.

This was reported to IMI by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

They were in an evacuation vehicle together with fellow BFMTV journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who, as IMI previously reported, was killed by the shelling.

According to investigators, the other two French channel representatives were also in the armored car during the shelling. As a result of the shelling, Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff received a shrapnel wound incompatible with life, Maxim Brandstetter suffered a shrapnel wound to the left thigh and a concussion, and Oksana Leuta received a concussion.

The information about this event has been submitted to the Unified Register of pre-trial investigations as a criminal offense under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal code of Ukraine ("Violation of laws and customs of war").

We remind that journalist of the French BFMTV channel Frederic Leclerc Imhoff received a fatal neck wound while being in the armored evacuation vehicle. He was covering the evacuation of the local residents.

13. French BFMTV fixer Oksana Leuta suffers a concussion due to russian shelling

30.05.2022 On May 30, fixer for the French BFMTV channel Oksana Leuta (Ukrainian citizen), along with the channel's journalist Maxim Brandstetter (French citizen), was injured due to a russian artillery strike on Lysychansk.

This was reported to IMI by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

They were in an evacuation vehicle together with fellow BFMTV journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who, as IMI previously reported, was killed by the shelling.

According to investigators, the other two French channel representatives were also in the armored car during the shelling. As a result of the shelling, Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff received a shrapnel wound incompatible with life, Maxim Brandstetter suffered a shrapnel wound to the left thigh and a concussion, and Oksana Leuta received a concussion.

The information about this event has been submitted to the Unified Register of pre-trial investigations as a criminal offense under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal code of Ukraine ("Violation of laws and customs of war").

We remind that journalist of the French BFMTV channel Frederic Leclerc Imhoff received a fatal neck wound while being in the armored evacuation vehicle. He was covering the evacuation of the local residents.

14. Military journalist Danylo Ishchenko wounded in Kharkiv region during filming

01.06.2022 Danylo Ishchenko, military journalist with the Central Television and Radio Studio of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, was wounded in the line of duty.

This was announced by the Military Television of Ukraine on their Facebook page.

It is reported that the doctors decided to amputate the limb and prescribed appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.

Danylo Ishchenko's colleagues ask everyone who cares to join and support him and donate to the card of his mother E. Ishchenko: 5355075010938266.

In a comment to IMI, Acting Head of the Central Television and Radio Studio of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Serhiy Kaminskyy said that Danylo Ishchenko was wounded on June 1 in Kharkiv region while filming a russian breakthrough attempt.

"He was carrying out his duties as a military journalist. He was holding a camera, gathering information. The russians were attempting a breakthrough and there was mortar fire, about four mines fell near them. He almost managed to get into the shelter on time, but a mine fragment caught up with him," Kaminskyy said, adding that his leg could not be saved.

As IMI reported, on June 10, author of the "Recruit.UA" program, former head of "Armiya FM" and the Military Television of Ukraine Oleksiy Chubashev was killed in action. On February 24, 2022, he went back to serve in the UAF. Oleksiy was 30 years old, he was survived by his wife, young daughter and son, who was born in March this year.

15. Italian journalists come under fire in Kherson

20.12.2022 Italian journalists Claudio Locatelli and Niccolò Celesti came under Russian fire in Kherson on December 19, ANSA reports. 

They said their vehicle had been targetted "intentionally" but they had managed to get away safely.

One projectile "damaged the car, we remained trapped under fire before succeeding in getting away safely, I lost some blood but the wound is slight," said reporter Claudio Locatelli in a video with colleague Niccolò Celesti.

"If I had opened the door I would have lost a leg or worse. The car is well flagged (as carrying journalists). The attack against us, considering the place and the dynamics, was intentional. The fire came from the riverbank on the other side of the Dnieper, where the Russian army is," the journalist said.

Claudio Locatelli posted the video of the shelling on Facebook. The attack took place on December 19. The journalists said his ear has been injured by window shards.

As IMI reported, 21-year-old Dmytro Sydorko, who ran the "Ukrainsky Nastup" Telegram channel, died in a battle with the Russian occupiers near Bakhmut.

16. Journalist from Japan wounded in a missile strike on Kyiv (Updated)

31.12.2022 A journalist from Japan has been wounded in a Russian missile attack on Kyiv on December 31. This was reported by Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko.

According to him, the journalist was wounded in the Pechersk district.

"He is being hospitalized. As of now, there are already 8 victims in total," Klitschko wrote on Telegram.

According to ZN.ua, the injured journalist is Wataru Sekita. The publication posted a video of the journalist receiving medical assistance.

As reported by the Asahi Shimbun, where Wataru Sekita works, he was wounded in the leg. Two reporters of the publication stayed in downtown Kyiv, in the hotel that was damaged by Russian missiles.

Sekita is currently in the hospital.

According to him, he was outside the hotel when the shelling began and the debris fell down on him, injuring his right leg.

According to another Asahi Shimbun reporter, Norito Kunisue, who was in his room, he heard two missiles explode near the hotel around 2:00 p.m. After that, there was a loud crash, and the window in the room shattered into pieces.

According to the media, the missiles damaged the Alfavito Hotel Kyiv, which is located near the Palats Ukraina subway station.

We remind that Russia conducted a mass shelling attack on Ukraine on December 31.

17. Bild journalist injured in a shelling attack on Druzhkivka

02.01.2023 Bild reporter Bjorn Stritzel has been injured by shrapnel in a Russian shelling attack on Druzhkivka town (Donetsk oblast) on January 2. This is reported on the publication's website.

Stritzel was sitting by the window when an explosion went off in the town, so he was slightly injured by a glass shard. The door of the house did not withstand the explosion. The glass shattered all over the room, Bild writes.

The journalist himself tweeted that he had been on his forehead by a glass splinter while having dinner at his hotel.

"I am fine, just a cut on the forehead most likely by glass splinter. Was having dinner when the blast happened (not quite sure about the ordnance, haven’t found any debris yet). Was sitting behind the window here. My best guess is it was some part of missile coming down close by," he wrote.

The journalist supposed that the enemy was targeting the railway station, which is around the corner from the hotel where he was staying. He also wrote that there had been several explosions, and that his French colleagues had filmed one of the first blasts, which damaged the hotel where he was staying in.

The Bild team, which is in Druzhkivka and filming a report there, is feeling well, the publication notes.

18. La Repubblica correspondent wounded by a Russian strike on Kherson

26.04.2023 Corrado Zunino, a correspondent for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, was wounded by a Russian strike on Kherson today, April 26. This was reported on the media outlet's website and announced by the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani.

The journalist was wounded in the shoulder during a drone attack. He was in the car with his fixer at the time.

According to the media outlet, Corrado was provided with assistance and is being treated in the Kherson hospital. As of now, there has been no news about the fate of his colleague.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, Antonio Tajani, noted that Zunino was doing well and the Italian Embassy in Kyiv was monitoring him.

The Kherson RMA refused to disclose the details of the incident to IMI's regional representative.

19. British journalist injured in a Russian strike on Kramatorsk

27.06.2023 A British freelance photographer, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, was injured in the Russian shelling attack on Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on June 27.

As Anastasia Taylor-Lind told The New York Times, she was dining inside a downtown cafe. At 19.30 the place was "pretty busy". It was supposed to close in about half an hour.

Later, she heard a “roaring” noise and knew it was an incoming missile. Then there was an explosion.

“I felt hot air and the sound of breaking glass and debris flying, clattering and tinkering,” she said. “It went on and on and on.”

According to the photographer, she and her colleague slid off their chairs and made it to the basement, fearful of another strike. Both were bleeding. A member of the wait staff washed the blood off her face, Ms. Taylor-Lind said, and also helped her colleague.

As BBC Ukraine reports, citing Aguanta Ucraina (Hang on, Ukraine – a Ukraine support group in South America), three Colombian citizens were wounded by the shelling in downtown Kramatorsk: the founder of the organization, Colombian MP Sergio Jaramillo, writer Héctor Abad Faciolince and journalist Catalina Gómez. They have minor injuries.

They were accompanied by a Ukrainian writer, who has been severely wounded.

It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining, and another one hit Bilenke village. According to the State Emergency Service, as of 10:00 a.m. on June 28, the bodies of 9 dead people (including 3 children) were recovere from the rubble, and 56 people were injured (including 1 child, born in 2022).

20. Colombian journalist injured in a Russian strike on Kramatorsk

27.06.2023 A journalist from South America, Catalina Gómez, was injured in the Russian shelling attack on Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on June 27.

As BBC Ukraine reports, citing Aguanta Ucraina (Hold on Ukraine – a Ukraine support group in South America), three Colombian citizens were wounded by the shelling in downtown Kramatorsk: the founder of the organization, Colombian MP Sergio Jaramillo, writer Héctor Abad Faciolince and journalist Catalina Gómez. They have minor injuries.

They were accompanied by a Ukrainian writer, who has been severely wounded.

It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining, and another one hit Bilenke village. According to the State Emergency Service, as of 10:00 a.m. on June 28, the bodies of 9 dead people (including 3 children) were recovere from the rubble, and 56 people were injured (including 1 child, born in 2022).

21. Interpreter accompanying a foreign journalist injured in the strike on Kramatorsk

27.06.2023 Dmytro, an interpreter accompanying a foreign journalist, was injured in the Russian strike on Kramatorsk on June 27.

Dmytro told IMI about this.

According to him, they were in the restaurant that was hit by the missile. Dmytro and the journalist have minor injuries. He and his colleague feel normal, they refused to be hospitalized.

"I have relatively light physical injuries and now, on the second day, I got a headache. But this, as I understand it, is how concussion normally goes. I hope it will pass," the interpreter said.

Dmytro asked not to disclose his name because he does not want his relatives to learn about his injuries.

Recalling the moment of the shelling, Dmytro said he and the reporter were sitting on the summer terrace. The restaurant was busy that evening.

"A kind of a roar, like a fighter jet engine, but it all happened very quickly, and then – an explosion. Just like that, very simple. Everything in my view became shaky. Sparks, flashes. It was all over in a few seconds. I got up from the table, realized that I still got my arms and legs, I was very happy about that, and we went to the basement," Dmytro recalled the moment of the impact.

He added that as he was walking down to the basement, he felt something very hot on his head. It was blood; he was given first aid in the basement.

After that, Dmytro noted, he suggested that his colleague leave the restaurant, as he assumed that the Russians could hit it again in about 20 minutes.

"We left, got up. I dug out my bag, my car keys. My power bank. She took her bag, and we headed to the spot where I had parked my car. The car is destroyed almost completely, like a tin can – everything is squished to the inside. There were no windows, but the engine did start," said Dmytro.

Then, they went to the hospital, where Dmytro got his face injury stitched up and his hand and head bandaged.

It will be recalled that Russian troops launched a missile strike on Kramatorsk in the evening of June 27. One "Iskander" missile hit a pizzeria in the city center, where patrons, including journalists, were dining.

Two reporters were injured – a British freelance photographer, Anastasia Taylor-Lind, and a journalist from South America, Catalina Gómez.

On June 28, SBU counter-intelligence detained a Russian agent who helped aim the Russian missile strike on a cafe in downtown Kramatorsk.

22. TSN journalist suffers a concussion while reporting from the front

19.07.2023 TSN correspondent Yulia Kiriyenko suffered a concussion on July 19 in the combat zone in Donetsk oblast, where she was filming a material about the Ukrainian defenders, report TSN and Detector Media.

Yulia clarified that it happened at the UAF positions.

"The Russians opened targeted fire either from a tank or from a howitzer – we didn't have time to process it. We felt five hits, two aimed at the dugout where we were hiding. Fortunately, while they were reloading their weapon, we managed to get into the car and drive away from the shelling," the journalist said.

According to her, she realized she was feeling unwell while on the way back. The soldiers took her to the doctors at the stabilization point, who confirmed that she had a mild concussion.

"Well, hello, first combat injury. A Russian tank or a howitzer gave me a concussion. Now I am also a stabilization point patient. P.S. They gave me oxygen. Now I'm feeling better," the reporter wrote on Facebook.

On July 19, TSN aired a report by Yulia Kiriyenko about Ukrainian troops destroying Russian equipment on one of the segments of the frontline and the work of medics at a stabilization point near Bakhmut.

Yulia Kiriyenko is a war correspondent who has been working on the front line since 2014, covering the hot spots. Yulia's husband has been defending Ukraine in the ranks of the Armed Forces since the first days of the war. In March 2022, he was awarded the medal "For Courage". It was he who hit the first tank in the convoy approaching Brovary at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

As IMI reported, in March 2022, the TSN filming crew (reporter Yuliya Kiriyenko and cameraman Volodymyr Rybachok) came under Russian artillery fire in Kyiv oblast.

23. DW cameraman injured by Russian cluster munitions in Donetsk oblast

22.07.2023 Deutsche Welle (DW) cameraman Yevhen Shylko received a shrapnel wound on July 22, when Russians shelled Druzhkivka (Donetsk oblast) with cluster bombs, DW reports.

The DW filming crew came under Russian fire around 12:10 p.m. while filming Ukrainian soldiers at a training camp near Druzhkivka. One Ukrainian soldier was killed in the attack, and several others were seriously wounded.

Shylko was taken to a hospital. His condition is stable now. DW correspondent Mathias Böhlinger and the security team accompanying the filming crew were intact. The journalists' car was damaged.

"We were filming the Ukrainian army during a shooting practice when suddenly we heard several explosions. We dropped down to the ground, several more explosions rang out, we saw that some people were wounded. Later, the Ukrainian army confirmed that we had been fired upon with cluster munitions," Böhlinger said.

DW CEO Peter Limbourg expressed his deep respect and gratitude to the reporters who continue to do their job covering the war despite the shelling and the risk to their lives. "Despite all the safety measures taken and the distance from the Russian front, the work of our colleagues in the war zone remains dangerous," he said and wished Shylko a speedy recovery.

24. AFP reporter wounded by a drone strike near Bakhmut

24.07.2023 A reporter for the French news agency AFP was wounded by a drone strike near Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast, on July 24, reports Le Figaro, citing AFP.

Dylan Collins, 35, received multiple shrapnel wounds in a wooded area while filming a report on the work of Ukrainian artillerymen.

He was evacuated to the nearest hospital, where he is being treated. The doctors said that there is no threat to the journalist's life. He is conscious and in touch with his colleagues.

Director of AFP in Europe, Christine Buhagiar, said that they were looking into the details of the incident. "Our thoughts are with Dylan and his loved ones," she said.

Dylan Collins is a US citizen who lives in Lebanon but currently works in Ukraine. Collins has been with AFP since 2018 and is currently the news agency's video coordinator in Lebanon and Syria. Collins has worked in conflict areas in the Middle East and covered the Nagorno-Karabakh war in 2020.

Since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has frequently visited Ukraine for work.

As IMI reported, AFP video reporter Arman Soldin was killed by Russian shelling near Chasiv Yar (Donetsk oblast) on May 9, 2023. Soldin and his colleagues from the AFP came under fire while they were with a group of Ukrainian soldiers.

French prosecutors opened a war crime investigation into AFP reporter Arman Soldin's death in Ukraine.

Firing at journalists – 39

1. Czech Voxpot reporters came under fire from russian military

02.03.2022 Czech Voxpot reporters Majda Slamova and Vojtech Bohac came under fire along with Ukrainian media outlets in Makariv near Kyiv on March 2.

This was reported by the Voxpot journalists.

They said that they were alive, but as they tried to escape, russian militants deliberately shot at the journalists' cars.

Bullet holes from an AK-74 were found on the car door.

In his report, Vojtech Bohac mentioned that their car was marked with a "PRESS" sign and there were two Ukrainian reporters named Taras and Alyona with them.

2. russian troops shoot and rob a car with Hromadske journalist

08.03.2022 russian troops shot and robbed a car with Hromadske journalist Victoria Roshchina. She wrote about this on her Facebook page.

According to Victoria, she and the driver of the car came across a convoy of russian tanks in  Zaporizhzhia region.

"Then – the roaring of tanks, the white letter Z, the flag of the rf. They drove around the corner and moved in our direction. The driver and I backed off and tried to turn around. The russians began to fire actively on us. Bullets, and then hot projectiles. Fortunately, they were flying past us. I gave the command to stop, abandon the car and lie down in the field. But the convoys were coming towards us, and our rescue became an abandoned house behind which we waited for russian vehicles to pass by," she wrote.

"While we were hiding, our car was opened. There was a PRESS sticker. They took my laptop, camera, backpack, the driver's cigarettes, too," the journalist said.

She noted that she was left without phone connection and surrounded.

"Tanks on both sides of the village. We are surrounded and unable to pass information. The worst thing about occupation is the night. Dawn still gives you hope for the best. For us it did not start with shelling or the basement. About 150 russian vehicles moved towards our peaceful villages. "I went on a reconnaissance mission on foot. Because of the stress, I didn't feel tired, cold, or afraid. A lot happened after that. And there is definitely more to come," Roshchina wrote.

She also added that they were rescued by some good people.

"I went into the regions to tell the story of what was going on there and what the people who have been living without communication all this time, under the barrel of machine guns, hail and the roar of russian tanks, think. In small villages and towns, the occupiers feel like 'heroes.' They shoot civilians, set cars on fire, kill, loot, they turn people's lives into hell, they traumatize the psyche of children. I will never forgive russia. Never," the journalist wrote.

3. TSN TV crew came under fire from russian troops in Kyiv region

15.03.2022 The TSN filming crew of "1+1" channel came under artillery fire from the russian occupiers in Kyiv region on March 15, TSN reports.

Journalist Yulia Kiriyenko and cameraman Volodymyr Rybachok arrived at a post in Kyiv region to interview the Ukrainian servicemen on how they had detained some russian soldiers there the other day. They did not have time to begin filming, as the enemy began shelling from an occupied village. The shooting started as the TV crew was in the field and there was simply nowhere to hide. The only shelter for journalists was a ditch along the road.

During the pause, the group tried to escape by car, but due to the shelling they were forced to stop and hide in a private house.

"There were at least 10 explosions in those few minutes. The military was later told that an enemy drone had been operating. The occupiers had been adjusting the fire through it," Yulia Kiriyenko said.

"It helped me that you were praying. I just felt the power of the word," said Yulia's colleague, military correspondent Borys Sachalko.

"We are used to seeing such a picture in Donbass, but here... we still can't believe it's so close," said another military correspondent Oleg Kornienko.

According to the journalist, the enemy's shelling in this area of the front line has not stopped for several days. "The occupiers are furious after the insane defeat when the military smashed their tank column. That is why they are taking revenge – shelling from afar both villages and roads with civillian cars on them," Yulia Kiriyenko said.

4. ICTV's "Fakty" TV crew came under enemy fire together with the TSN crew

15.03.2022 The TV crew of ICTV's "Fakty" program came under artillery fire from the russian military on March 15 in Kyiv region, as they reported on ICTV.

Journalist Oleh Kornienko and cameraman Artur Turovych came under fire in the middle of a field. As soon as the journalists arrived at the spot, russians launched an artillery attack.

"It is virtually impossible to work at military posts. The enemy immediately opens fire and hits chaotically. We do not leave the shelter, because we hear explosions and shelling literally every minute," ICTV journalist Oleh Kornienko said.

Journalists managed to hide in a bomb shelter and wait for the shelling, which lasted more than an hour, to end. However, the UAF managed to eliminate enemy artillery and the military.

It should be noted that the film crew of the ICTV's "Fakty" program came under fire together with the TV crew of the TSN filming crew from "1+1" channel.

5. Current Time (RFE/RL) TV crew also came under russian shelling in Kyiv region

15.03.2022 The filming crew of the Current Time channel (RFE/RL) came under artillery fire from russian troops in the Kyiv region on March 15. This was reported on the channel's website.

According to the channel, the russian military targeted one of the villages in the northern area.

The shelling caught journalist Borys Sachalko and his cameraman in a field. They were in "PRESS" bulletproof vests and were able to reach cover. Borys lost his microphone but survived.

"The driver, the cameraman, and I are intact," Sachalko said after escaping.

It should be noted that the film crew of Current Time came under fire together with the film crews of the "Facty" ICTV program and "1+1" channel's TSN.

6. Journalists from the Turkish TRT World under fire

25.03.2022 Foreign journalists from the English-language channel TRT World (Turkey) and a special correspondent of TSN (1+1), Honored Journalist of Ukraine Andriy Tsaplienko came under russian fire in Chernihiv region on March 25. "1+1" channel's "TSN. Tyzhden" journalist Andriy Tsaplienko received a shrapnel wound.

According to 1+1 media, Tsaplienko was wounded in the evening of March 25 during a shelling by russian troops of a column of civilians in the Chernihiv region. 

Foreign journalists from the English-language channel TRT World (Turkey) and a special correspondent of TSN (1+1), Honored Journalist of Ukraine Andriy Tsaplienko were in the fired column. They were performing an editorial assignment, covering the opening of a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of civilians to a safe place.

"It happened today, March 25, at about 4:50 p.m., during the shelling of the humanitarian corridor to Chernihiv. There were many civilians and cars waiting for permission to cross into Chernihiv to pick up their relatives. After the drone recorded a crowd, 15 minutes later the shelling began. First they started firing from Smerch (heavy multiple rocket launcher), then from 122 mm caliber artillery, then a mortar was connected, and at the final stage it was a tank. All this lasted at least an hour and a half," Andriy Tsaplienko said. 

Together with Tsaplienko there was the TV filming crew of the English-language channel TRT World. "Despite the fact that their colleagues are experienced military journalists, they were shocked, because for the first time they found themselves under such heavy artillery fire. As well as shocked by the brutality of the russian military towards the civilian population," said the journalist. 

Now Andriy is on an IV: "The doctors said the wound was A-grade. This means that everything will be fine and I am very lucky."

7. CNN team under russian fire near Mykolaiv

04.04.2022 CNN filming crew came under russian artillery fire on April 4. No one was injured, as CNN reported.

The crew first came under fire at a crossroads the the south of Mykolaiv, near Oleksandrivka village. The journalists' car was damaged.

CNN correspondent Ben Wedeman, producer Kareem Khadder, photojournalist John Torigoe, interpreter Valeriia Dubrovska and their team had stopped at the crossroads to speak with a few Ukrainian soldiers.

As Wedeman was filming a standup report there was an explosion approximately 150 meters away from their location. The team hit the ground as another round came in.

"We hugged the ground and then ran for the cars. We jumped in our Mitsubishi Pajero, but it was destroyed. The car wouldn’t start. At least two of the tires were flat. All the windows shattered. The tank was punctured and leaking diesel and other fluids," Wedeman reported. 

The team ran to their other vehicle, which also had damage due to shrapnel, got in and drove off.

We remind that on April 4, there were four fires in the Mykolaiv area as a result of the russian attacks: the granary, the house and cars burned down. Civilians received shrapnel wounds.

8. "Dom" TV channel correspondent comes under russian fire in Rubizhne

28.04.2022 Anastasia Volkova, a correspondent for the "Dom" TV channel, came under fire in the partially occupied Rubizhne, Luhansk region.

As Anastasia told an IMI representative, they arrived in the city on April 28 to film the evacuation of people. At this moment, the russians opened fire on the place where the evacuation was to begin.

“We had just arrived and five minutes later, they started to fire precisely at the square where we were. We crawled into the Palace of Culture on our stomacks, over broken glass, to survive the shelling. We heard the shells hit to the left, to the right, in front, behind the building, and the building itself. We heard a heavy mortar working," said Anastasia.

According to the journalist, she was wearing a bulletproof vest and a helmet with PRESS stickers.

She left when she realized that the occupiers had run out of ammunition and had a chance to take advantage of this lull. When the journalist had already arrived in Severodonetsk, she noted that she could hear the shelling resume in Rubizhne.

9. Hromadske crew comes under fire while filming a report about evacuation in Donetsk region

06.05.2022 Hromadske crew, under shelling by "Grads," filmed a report on how civilians of Lyman (Donetsk region) are being taken to Dnipro city, according to Detector Media.

The film crew included journalist Anastasia Stanko, videographer Kolyan Pastyko and driver Viktor Andrushchenko.

During the shooting on the road, three shells landed 200 meters away from the Hromadske team and the Lyman residents. Shortly after the evacuation of people, a russian missile hit the road bridge between Raihorodok and Lyman – the Hromadske journalists have traveled across it a dozen times. This route was also used to take the wounded out of Lyman.

In their report, the journalists focused on the work of the police, which evacuates people in need of assistance. "About twenty 200's, even more 300's," the policemen say of the losses during the full-scale war.

Every trip here is risky. "2014 was a walk in the park compared to this. Those who have been under the 'Grads' will understand," Dmytro Zaliznychnyk commented.

"Grads" hit the buses during evacuation. The police officers go to dilapidated houses in Lyman during intervals, when the russian occupiers reload their equipment. In the end, they manage to bring out a wounded man.

10. Estonian and German journalists come under russian fire in the Donbas

12.05.2022 Estonian ERR correspondents Anton Alekseev and Kristjan Svirgsden, Estonian Postimees journalists Jaanus Piirsalu and Dmitry Kotyukh, and German Welt correspondent Alfred Hackensberger came under russian fire in Donetsk region near Siversk, Detector Media reports.

A few kilometers away from the city, their cars had to stop because of the shelling.

"It was a UAV, we heard the whistling of a missile that fell and hit a residential area. And then it was the typical fireworks: individual bombs falling down for more than a minute," Alfred Hackensberger described the incident as he turned on the livestream from a safe place.

“From the place where we stopped, it was clear that the city was under heavy fire and many houses were already on fire. After lying under fire for 15 minutes, we decided to leave this unpleasant spot. Especially since the fragments of cluster munitions were already flying relatively close to us," Anton Alekseev said in his report.

As IMI reported, earlier, Hromadske crew came under fire while filming a report on the evacuation of civilians in Lyman, Donetsk region.

11. TSN filming crew comes under cluster bombing in Maryinka

12.05.2022 "1+1" TV channel's TSN filming crew came under cluster bombing in Maryinka, Donetsk region, during the filming, TSN reports.

The story goes that russian troops fire on the city every day from planes, helicopters, "Grads," and artillery.

“Within seconds, there are explosions are all over the central part of the city. Burly serviceman 'Hammer' orders us to lie down and not move. Explosive bits fall just in front of the journalists and the military. The cameraman captures the russians' crime on camera and the group, together with the military, urgently leaves the shelling," the story reads.

The journalists managed to talk to citizens who remain in Maryinka despite the shelling.

It was impossible to talk with them for a long time, because explosions were heard from Donetsk's direction again – the soldiers say that it was an enemy aircraft crushing the elevator and the industrial zone.

The TSN team that came under fire consisted of: Oleksandr Zahorodny, Ivan Holovach, and Vitaliy Ovsyannikov.

12. "Zaborona" journalists come under russian fire in Kharkiv region

16.05.2022 Journalists of the online publication "Zaborona" came under russian fire in Kharkiv region. No one was injured, the newspaper reported on their Telegram channel.

On May 15, "Zaborona" filming crew – cameraman Mykola Dondyuk, journalist Vira Myronova and photographer Ivan Chernichkin – came under heavy russian fire in the village of Cherkasky Tyshky, 25 km north of Kharkiv.

The shelling began during a video interview with a villager.

The publication also posted a video of the shelling.

Earlier, correspondents for Estonian ERR Anton Alekseev and Kristjan Svirgsden, as well as Postimees journalists Jaanus Piirsalu and Dmitry Kotyukh and German Welt correspondent Alfred Haberger, came under russian fire in Donetsk region near the city of Siversk.

The filming crew of "1+1" TV channel's TSN came under russian cluster bombing in the town of Maryinka in Donetsk region while filming a report.

13. ICTV filming crew comes under russian artillery fire in Donetsk region

18.05.2022 ICTV channel filming crew came under russian artillery fire in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region.

This was reported on "Fakty ICTV" website.

The enemy opened missile fire as journalists Tetyana Nakonechna, Yevhen Turta, and Oleh Tsymbalyuk were working on the story.

One of the missiles landed several dozen meters away. No one was injured.

14. AFP filming crew comes under fire on Bakhmut–Lysychansk highway

23.05.2022 AFP filming crew came under fire on their way from Bakhmut to Lysychansk, Hromadskе reports.

The according video was posted on Twitter on May 23 by the head of the AFP photo department in Greece, Aris Messinis, who had been in the car during the shooting. The video shows that the shelling is happening on both sides of the highway.

It is by this road that people are being evacuated every day, Hromadske reports. According to the publication, russian troops have been shelling the highway for more than two weeks. They are 7-8 km away from Popasna and are trying to cut this road to encircle the Ukrainian forces in Luhansk region. 

In addition, Aris Messinis published photos from the cities of Soledar and Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

As IMI reported, on May 18, ICTV filming crew came under russian fire in Donetsk region.

Earlier, Estonian ERR correspondents Anton Alekseev and Kristjan Svirgsden, Estonian Postimees journalists Jaanus Piirsalu and Dmitry Kotyukh, and German Welt correspondent Alfred Hackensberger came under russian fire in Donetsk region, near the city of Siversk.

1+1 channel's TSN filming crew came under russian cluster bombing in Maryinka, Donetsk region, while filming a story.

15. Radio Liberty journalists come under fire while filming the hostilities in the Donbas

28.05.2022 Radio Liberty correspondent Maryan Kushnir and photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko came under fire by russian troops near Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on May 28. Journalists had been filming a story about the Ukrainian army's counterattack, and the positions of the UAF were fired upon by russian artillery.

This was stated by Maryan Kushnir in a comment to IMI.

He said that the blast had damaged the windshield of his car, which had been parked nearby.

"I was filming the Ukrainian military counterattacking. Artillery was firing at them. I was nearby, my car was nearby. In this hell, a shell landed nest to me. Damaged the glass. They didn't shoot at me purposefully. I have been in battles before. Obviously, there is shooting there. In fact, no one fired at me. Everyone was being fired on because it is the active phase of the hostilities. I was just there," he said, adding that the car was hidden, but it just so happened that a shell fell nearby.

Maryan Kushnir provided IMI with the video he had filmed with his colleague that day.

As IMI reported, on March 11, Maryan Kushnir suffered a concussion as a result of a russian attack in Kyiv region.

16. The occupiers start shelling Bakhmut as journalist records an interview with local residents

28.05.2022 In Bakhmut (Donetsk region) on May 28, the russian occupiers opened fire while Oleksiy Matsuka, journalist and editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian foreign language broadcasting channel UA, was recording his conversation with local residents.

The journalist reported it for Dom channel from the site.

Two Bakhmut residents had been telling the journalist how they survived in a wartime city. And at that moment, the sound of an explosion came.

No casualties were reported, as there was a shelter nearby.

17. TSN filming crew comes under the enemy's fire during a live report

29.05.2022 The TSN filming crew came under russian missile fire near Bakhmut in Donetsk region, TSN reports.

This happened on May 29 during a live report performed by journalist Oleksandr Zahorodniy and cameraman Ivan Holovach.

The journalist was speaking on air about the shelling of the Bakhmut–Lysychansk highway, by which the locals are trying to escape the fire, but fall into traps. About the difficult conditions in which they manage to break through.

At this time, enemy missiles began to hit the place where the filming crew was. The filming crew began to take cover in a shelter. While lying down already, the journalist had to finish the broadcast.

Oleksandr Zahorodniy and Ivan Holovach were not injured during the shelling.

As IMI reported, in early May, "1+1" TV channel's TSN filming crew (Oleksandr Zahorodniy, Ivan Holovach, Vitaliy Ovsyannikov) came under cluster bombing in Maryinka, Donetsk region, while filming a report.

18. BBC filming crew comes under russian fire in the Donbas

07.06.2022 BBC correspondent Orla Guerin, along with her filming crew, came under russian fire in the Donbas, ВВС reports.

When the shelling began, the journalists hid in an armored car.

"We just had to take more cover, get more protection inside our armored car, there was an incoming attack. The troops say it was a cluster bomb, and it landed less than a mile away. Now, the last half an hour or so there have been constant warnings about incoming fire, we had to run and take cover, the troops have taken cover, and we have heard plenty outgoing fire," the journalist said.

"It is very clear that the war in this area is extremely active, and the russians are trying hard to push forward," said Guerin.

Ukrainian troops told her that the russians had taken the experience of defeat near Kyiv into account and were now covering the Donbas with artillery fire. However, they are not going to stop resisting, because, as serviceman Ivan put it, russia has already seized Ukrainian territory half the size of Italy.

19. Radio Liberty correspondent comes under russian fire along with a soldier

10.06.2022 On June 10, Radio Liberty correspondent Serhiy Horbatenko, along with Roman Ternovsky, a soldier of the 122nd Battalion of the Izyum District Territorial Defense, came under russian fire in Donetsk region, Radio Liberty reports.

They left Slovyansk in the direction of Lysychansk to deliver a backpack from volunteers to a military medic. They drove to the Bakhmut–Lysychansk highway and came under fire by russian troops.

When the journalist asked if they were being targeted, the military said yes.

"Here you saw what the so-called 'road of life' from Bakhmut to Lysychansk looks like right now. Fortunately, we stopped on time and turned around, and, as Roman says, as we were already leaving, there right behind us a shell landed and exploded. In other words, a russian artillery spotter is sitting somewhere nearby and directing the fire on everyone who moves on this road," Serhiy Horbatenko said.

After that, the journalist and the military drove to the city of Siversk, which is being constantly shelled by russian troops. Upon arrival, he saw smoke and no people on the streets.

Later, the journalist and the military managed to take the backpack to the military doctor.

As IMI reported, on May 28, Radio Liberty correspondent Maryan Kushnir and photographer Serhiy Nuzhnenko came under fire by russian troops near Bakhmut, Donetsk region. Journalists had been filming a story about the Ukrainian army's counterattack, and the positions of the UAF were fired upon by russian artillery.

20. Suspilne journalists come under fire in Lysychansk

13.06.2022 Suspilne journalists Khrystyna Havryliuk and Taras Ibrahimov came under fire in the center of Lysychansk along with their colleagues, Suspilne reports.

They were evacuated by the military of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As the journalists reported, none of them have been injured.

According to the Ukrainian military, russian troops fire on Lysychansk almost every day. They say that due to the significant advantage in artillery, the russian army can "cover" entire districts of the city. About 15,000 civilians remain in such conditions.

21. Bild journalists come under fire while leaving Lysychansk

22.06.2022 On June 22, journalists of the German Bild came under russian fire on the way out of Lysychansk (Luhansk region). This was reported on the Bild website.

According to the newspaper, Bild reporter Paul Ronzheimer, along with photographer Giorgos Moutafis and Vadym Moisenko, came under fire while trying to leave Lysychansk, which has been almost completely surrounded by the russian army.

None of them was injured. Only the car was damaged – a broken window.

The newspaper does not know whether the journalists had been targeted, but notes that the road to and from Lysychansk has been repeatedly attacked in recent weeks.

"The attack once again shows that the russian army does not differentiate between military and civilian targets, but simply bombs everything," Ronzheimer said.

22. Bild journalists come under fire while leaving Lysychansk

22.06.2022 On June 22, journalists of the German Bild came under russian fire on the way out of Lysychansk (Luhansk region). This was reported on the Bild website.

According to the newspaper, Bild reporter Paul Ronzheimer, along with photographer Giorgos Moutafis and Vadym Moisenko, came under fire while trying to leave Lysychansk, which has been almost completely surrounded by the russian army.

None of them was injured. Only the car was damaged – a broken window.

The newspaper does not know whether the journalists had been targeted, but notes that the road to and from Lysychansk has been repeatedly attacked in recent weeks.

"The attack once again shows that the russian army does not differentiate between military and civilian targets, but simply bombs everything," Ronzheimer said.

23. France 24 journalists come under russian fire in Slovyansk

03.07.2022 Journalists of the French TV channel FRANCE 24 came under russian fire while working on a story about the work of Ukrainian rescuers in Donetsk region, the State Emergency Service announced.

"The work of the journalists of the French TV channel FRANCE 24 about the work of Ukrainian rescuers in Donetsk region was interrupted by the enraged russians' shelling."

"Among those who came under fire are locals who had come for the water delivered by the emergency workers, our boys, and the French journalists," the message says.

The State Emergency Service noted that the journalists did not cut the footage of russian shelling from the story: "So you can see the conditions that the rescuers of Donetsk region have to work under every day."

From a brief to the FRANCE 24 report, it became known that the journalists came under fire on July 3 in Sloviansk, along with rescuers and local residents. "The city came under intense fire on Sunday. The residents who stayed there despite the bombing suffer from drinking water shortage in particular. Our special correspondents in the Donbas followed a brigade of firefighters not far from the front line, who are trying to at least somehow supply it to civilians," the caption to the report says.

24. Donbas Frontliner journalists come under russian fire near Bakhmut

31.07.2022 Donbas Frontliner journalists Andriy Dubchak and Danylo Dubchak came under russian cluster munition fire near Bakhmut, Donetsk region.

This is reported in Donbas Frontliner's story.

“Approximately five cassette bombs went off right above us. We were in a field, next to a cemetery, and the shelling covered a very large area. Good thing that that we survived," Andriy Dubchak said.

"The war is now more aggressive than it used to be. I already perceive the war as a part of my life, because we have had it since 2014," said Danylo Dubchak.

The journalists continued their work nonetheless and made a story about how the city of Bakhmut lives under constant enemy fire.

Andriy Dubchak told IMI that they came under cluster bombardment on July 31.

Andriy received minor injuries due to the shelling – cuts on his legs from ricocheting fragments.

In addition, five windows of their car were broken, two tires were completely destroyed, and the car's body had six holes in it.

Andrii does not rule out the possibility that they were being targeted deliberately, since their car was the only one parked near the field.

"Potentially, we could say yes (they were aiming deliberately – Ed.), the fire was being adjusted from an 'Orlan,' the artillery was working quite intensely. We were in blue bulletproof vests and we were alone there. Five cluster bombs exploded above us, and 20 minutes later they fired at the same spot. Our car could be seen, even though we tried to hide it under a tree," the journalist said.

Dubchak added that earlier, namely on July 30, they had come under artillery fire.

25. Ukrainian Witness filming crew targeted by russian fire in Avdiivka

11.08.2022 The Ukrainian Witness filming crew came under fire in Avdiivka on Thursday, August 11. The media outlet reported this on their Facebook page. The journalists believe that the shelling was deliberately targeting them.

According to the journalists, the serviceman who accompanied the group heard the sound of a drone, and shortly after that, targeted fire was opened. Journalist Оleksiy Prodayvoda pulled out a fragment from his bulletproof vest. "We are alright. Oleksiy is safe, alive, and healthy. Cameraman Оleksandr Davydenko, too. Our escort was also not harmed," reports Ukrainian Witness.

The publication quotes journalist Oleksiy Prodayvoda: "The three of us lay there for a long time – me, Sanya, and the soldier. We watched the houses burn after being hit by shells during the day; they saw us from their drone and fired eight rounds at us. Just a few meters away. Fortunately, there was a ravine and a ditch nearby, so we lay down there. Under the trees, too. I take off the vest and this thing falls out – a fragment. The soldier says that it got there on the way out already."

Separately, the publication notes that the UW filming crew was equipped in accordance with international requirements. "With PRESS written in large letters wherever possible. We have every reason to believe that those who opened the fire realized that they were shooting at journalists, since there are no military personnel in the area where the shelling took place. They aimed at people dressed in bulletproof vests with large PRESS inscriptions. Only the locals live there, and the local authorities come with a humanitarian mission every now and then," Ukrainian Witness said.

The journalists managed to shoot a video which they plan to publish as part of the new UW report about Avdiivka.

Ukrainian Witness is a new media project whose aim is to document the terrible events in Ukraine. The project was initiated by public activist Vitaliy Deinega, founder of the Come Back Alive foundation.

26. russians use a drone to drop explosives on Fakty ICTV filming crew

06.09.2022 Fakty ICTV film crew came under russian fire in Senkivka village, Chernihiv oblast. Fakty ICTV reports this.

While the crew was working on a story about the aftermath of shelling in the village, explosives were dropped on the them from a drone. The journalist, the cameraman, and the drivers were unharmed.

The editors note that the enemy probably aimed at the TV channel's car. The fragments damaged the door and broke the window.

Senkivka is located on the border that Ukraine shares with russia and Belarus. Despite the fact that the enemy opens fire every once in a while, people continue to live there.

27. TSN journalist in Kharkiv fled the shelling while livestreaming

12.09.2022 TSN journalist Victoria Streltsova came under Russian fire on September 12 while holding a livestream from Kharkiv, ТSN reports.

Victoria was talking about the restoration of power supply in the city after the September 11 attacks when suddenly there was a powerful explosion.

She had to run for cover while livestreaming. When she got to the bomb shelter, she said that several explosions were heard in the city center. She could feel the shock wave herself.

As IMI reported, in early May, TSN crew (Oleksandr Zahorodny, Ivan Holovach, Vitaliy Ovsyannikov) of the 1+1 TV channel came under cluster bombing in Maryinka, Donetsk oblast, during the filming.

In late May, TSN filming crew came under Russian missile fire near Bakhmut in Donetsk oblast. This happened during a live report by journalist Oleksandr Zahorodny and cameraman Ivan Holovach.

28. Channel 5 filming crew comes under fire in Donetsk oblast

27.09.2022 On September 27, Channel 5 filming crew came under fire while working in Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast.

The channel's editor and journalist Olha Kalinovska wrote about this on her Facebook page.

In her comment to an IMI representative, she said that they had arrived in Bakhmut around 1:00 p.m. At first, they worked on the outskirts, near the broken bridge.

"There, we we filming the people crossing it, recording their stories. There was constant shelling in the area, but it was on the outskirts. Then, we were filming people collecting water near the bridge. The shelling was coming closer," the journalist said.

According to her, later, the filming crew moved to the city center and talked to people there. At that time, the shelling was moving closer to the center.

"After all, we can distinguish the sound, how loud it is. The elderly man whom we were talking to packed his bags and left, and we worked for a little while more and started moving along the main road towards Kostyantynivka. It is near the city council. And when we almost reached the square near the city council, we first heard a whistle, saw the shell hit for the first time. It was not far from us. The cameraman had no time to film the first hit, so he started filming the smoke. And then we hear the second terrible whistle. The second shell fell closer to us," explained Olha Kalinovska.

After that, the Russians started shelling the center of Bakhmut indiscriminately.

"People were fleeing, and we filmed everyone running away. Everyone was running to the doorways, we wanted to hide between the houses, but then realized that this is a bad idea, because between the houses you can't hear where the shells are landing. On the road, we can at least see it. That's why we decided to leave. And while we were leaving, there was whistling, and the center itself was being bombed," the journalist said.

She emphasized: the shelling was targeted and massive.

"As the military explained to us, the Russians pick a 'square' and 'take it apart.' That is, the aiming is questionable (what's the point of shelling a road), they just shoot shells en masse. And they don't care whether there are troops or civilians there," added Olha Kalinovska.

29. Fakty ICTV filming crew comes under fire near Bakhmut

05.12.2022 The Fakty ICTV filming crew (special correspondent Kostyantyn Melnykov and cameraman Dmytro Matvienko) came under Russian fire on December 5 near Kurdyumivka village, Bakhmut district, Donetsk oblast. Kostyantyn Melnykov reported this to IMI.

According to him, they were working with the military, filming the work of the infantry and the reinforcing of our positions. He added that while they were working, the enemy probably spotted them from a drone, as they were fired upon a few minutes later. Other filming crews included Suspilne and Sky News.

The journalists were not injured, but, Kostyantyn said, their car was damaged. "The shock wave and fragments knocked out the rear window, the side passenger window behind the driver, damaged the windshield. The fragments pierced the car's body," the journalist said.

Kostyantyn Melnykov does not rule out that the Russian military knew that they were firing at journalists. "Hard to say whether it was deliberate, we were working with the military, after all. But all media representatives had the press stickers our on body armor and helmets. And considering that we were most likely spotted from a drone, they knew they were shooting at journalists," he said.

The journalists waited out the shelling in a shelter and left the military positions as soon as the enemy stopped firing.

30. "Telebachennya Toronto" filming crew comes under fire while working in Donetsk oblast

26.12.2022 "Telebachennya Toronto" journalist Alina Sheremeta and cameraman Oleh Arkhangorodsky came under fire while working in Donetsk oblast.

The media outlet issued a report about this.

The crew was working on a report about the Karpatska Sich Battalion, about the work of tankmen and aerial scouts, recording interviews with foreign fighters and medics setting out to the battlefield.

In her comment to an IMI representative, Alina Sheremeta noted that she does not think the shelling was because the Russians had noticed the journalists.

"The troops were returning from their positions and the enemy was firing at a military AFV," the journalist said.

As IMI reported, on November 17, Facebook deleted the "Telebachennya Toronto" page for alleged "hate speech" in their video about prominent Ukrainian historian Volodymyr Antonovych. A few days later, the "Telebachennya Toronto" Facebook page was restored.

31. Filming crew of a French TV channel comes under fire during a live stream

02.01.2023 The filming crew of the French TV channel TMC witnessed a rocket attack during a live broadcast, report Télé-Loisirs and 24newsrecorder.

The channel's journalist Paul Gasnier had come to Druzhkivka (Donetsk oblast) to cover the war in Ukraine. On the evening of January 2, a few minutes after going live, his crew was knocked off their feet by an explosion.

At the time, reporters Paul Gasnier, Héloïse Grégoire, and Théo Palfray were only a few meters away from the explosion, which went off right behind them near Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast).

In the video, the journalist is facing the camera with a microphone in his hand, followed by a sound of a Russian bomb going off, throwing him forward, and the camera falling to the ground. Immediately after that, the transmission was interrupted and, as it later turned out, the journalist ran to a bomb shelter together with the sound engineer.

Gasnier later explained how it had happened in his comment on the program: “It caught us by surprise. We were close to the explosions, and we could always hear them, but nothing like this has ever happened to us."

According to him, they were alone on the street, in the parking lot in front of their hotel.

"... it was very loud, we had dust in our eyes and mouth. Part of the hotel entrance collapsed on top of us, the windows were shattered. It was very thrilling. We don't know what happened exactly, we were very scared. But now we are all safe, everything is fine," the journalist said.

"I lost my microphone. Normally I should have had a red microphone, but I lost it in the explosion. Window shards were all around us, we were knocked off our feet, but we are fine," Gasnier said.

The filming crew managed to get to safety. "We were able to take cover in a church a little further away in another neighborhood. We are inside, we are alright, that's all that matters," he said.

As IMI reported, on January 2, Bild reporter Bjorn Stritzel has been injured by shrapnel in a Russian shelling attack on Druzhkivka town (Donetsk oblast).

The Bild team, which is in Druzhkivka and filming a report there, is feeling well, the publication notes.

32. "Dom" filming crew comes under Russian fire in Luhansk oblast

02.01.2023 On January 2, the filming crew of "Dom" TV channel came under Russian fire near Nevske village, Luhansk oblast.

The channel's correspondent Anastasia Volkova spoke to an IMI representative about this.

"We were driving slowly and came under fire as we approached Nevske. Literally four shells landed next to us, 100 meters away from us. We filmed it, but it was very scary," Anastasia said.

According to her, the Russians were not targeting the media workers deliberately. They were probably aiming at the police cars that were moving in the same convoy with the journalists.

Both the filming crew and the car in which they were driving are intact.

33. Russians deliberately fire at Česká Televize journalists near Bakhmut

26.01.2023 On January 26, the Russian military deliberately shelled a spot near Bakhmut (Donetsk oblast) where a Česká Televize crew was working together with their Ukrainian colleagues. The journalists themselves and their cars were branded with "PRESS" stickers.

This was reported to an IMI representative by a Ukrainian war correspondent, Česká Televize fixer Anastasia Zhuk.

"I'm 200% sure that it was deliberate, because there was a drone flying around beforehand, and the error couldn't have been significant. Perhaps they wanted to scare us, but, you know, the scattering of shards and fragments can not be overlooked, either. And firing at the press is a kind of 'entertainment,'" Anastasia said.

Describing the details, she noted that the journalists were about to enter Bakhmut. They stopped for 20 minutes away to take a panoramic shot of the explosions in Bakhmut, the work of the enemy's artillery, and to film the journalist in the frame.

"The explosions were coming non-stop. I saw Russian SUs flying around and dropping bombs on Yahidne village with my own eyes. A new pillar of white smoke would rise every five minutes. As my colleagues were filming a stand-up shot, I noticed a drone flying, but I'm not sure whose drone it was, since we were in the UAF-controlled territory. Unfortunately, it does not say on the drone whether it is Ukrainian or Russian. It flew around for some time. We were wearing helmets with the 'PRESS' marks, the car also had 'PRESS' stickers – both in front and on the back. When we were finished, the first shell hit 50 meters away from us. It was probably the artillery: they couldn't have gotten to us with the mortars, because we were on a raised surface. It was artillery, a 132-caliber – a self-propelled artillery system," Anastasia said.

According to her, she went to the car, where her colleagues were already waiting for her. At that time, another explosion went off – a shell hit the road 20 meters away from the car.

"My colleagues were very scared. We packed our things quickly, got into the car, and drove away. We got onto a concrete road, and literally a minute after we left the place, another hit from a 132-caliber. Approximately the same spot where our car had been parked," the journalist noted.

Anastasia Zhuk added that the journalists were not injured, merely frightened.

34. "Zaborona" journalists come under Russian fire near Bakhmut

08.02.2023 On January 31, "Zaborona" filming crew came under Russian mortar fire on the road near Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast. Journalist Polina Vernyhor reported this on Facebook and gave a comment to IMI.

According to Polina, the mine fell next to their car and punctured the wheel.

"On the first day of the our trip, we went to Bakhmut and came under mortar fire a few kilometers from the city. Fortunately, it was just an ordinary mine, and not an anti-tank missile, which Russians are firing left and right around there. Fortunately, the debris did not hit the windows or the fuel tank. Fortunately, the car with a completely torn tire didn't just stop in the middle of the road," she wrote on Facebook.

Journalists were supposed to make a report about the Bakhmut children, who were forced to hide from the shelling in cellars.

In her comment to IMI, Vernyhor specified that there were three of them in the car: she, photographer Ivan Chernichkin, and cameraman Yevhen Zhulay. According to her, the shelling injured none of them, she only suffered a contusion in her right ear.

She also added that their car was marked with "PRESS" labels on the front and rear windows. At the same time, Vernyhor believes that the Russians were simply mass shelling the highway, not targeting the journalists.

35. Bild filming crew comes under Russian fire in Bakhmut

12.02.2023 On February 12, the filming crew of the German Bild came under Russian fire in Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast. This was reported on the publication's website.

Journalists Paul Ronzheimer, Vadym Moysenko and Giorgos Moutafis were filming a story about the lives of Bakhmut locals who remain in the city despite the shelling.

According to the report, the filming crew witnessed Russian attacks while traveling through the city: "Russian soldiers are shooting with mortars at the neighbourhood where we have just been interviewing residents."

While filming the story and talking to locals, the filming crew came under fire and had to run for cover. As noted in the article, the explosion was "extreme" and not even 200 metres away from them.

"We run away while there are more explosions in our direct vicinity. It is sometimes only seconds that decide whether somebody is hit, or will continue to live," the article says.

After three hours in Bakhmut, which, as the journalists note, "has become hell in this war," the filming crew left the city.

36. BBC filming crew comes under Russian fire in Kherson oblast

17.03.2023 A BBC crew – reporter Victoria Zhuhan, cameraman Kevin McGregor, and producer Claire Press – came under Russian missile fire while reporting on aid workers in Mylove village, Kherson oblast, Daily Mail reports.

The journalists were following a group of volunteers. The attack happened as the volunteers were delivering aid packages to people in the deoccupied village.

As seen in the video, the journalists took cover near a wall first, and then ran towards the car. There were several explosions.

The volunteer Kostiantyn Tytarenko, who also filmed the aid drop, revealed in a video: "We are leaving. There was an artillery attack just now. It was so strong. I've never heard anything like it."

According to Daily Mail, it was the first aid that arrived in the small village of Mylove in the Kherson region in three weeks and people were visibly desperate to get their hands on much-needed supplies. Nobody was killed in the attacks according to Ukrainian authorities.

37. Donbas.Realii journalists come under Russian fire near Bakhmut

22.03.2023 Donbas.Realii correspondents came under Russian shelling near Bakhmut on March 22. This is reported on the project's Telegram channel.

According to the correspondent Yehor Loginov, they were filming the work of the Ukrainian military a few kilometers away from the front line, which is when the Russian troops started shelling the positions with mortars and "Grads".

"Our positions were under fire, but we made it to a dugout. We sat through the shelling and left," the journalist said.

According to Loginov, only the car was damaged. One of the fragments pierced the car door and the driver's seat and got stuck in the magazine "UAF Ground Forces", on a page depicting Valery Zaluzhny. "We can say that our Commander-in-chief can even stop shrapnel," Yehor added and showed the fragment stuck in the publication.

"Most importantly, everyone is alive," the journalist noted.

38. Journalists come under Russian fire in Kherson

08.06.2023 The Russian military started shelling Kherson, where the civilians affected by the flood caused by the explosion of the Kakhovska HPP are being evacuated. Some journalists came under fire during the attack.

The strike was reported by "Graty" correspondent Stas Yurchenko.

There have been reports about journalists for the Spanish state television coming under fire as well.

"There were several filming crews on Korabeliv Square when the shelling happened. We know for sure that a Spanish state TV crew was there, their fixer Rodion Krasnovyd told me that they were hiding higher up, they saw the strikes. Now they are checking what the situation is, they say that some people have been injured. At the same time, there have been no reports about injured journalists at the moment. The Spaniards are fine, too," said Serhiy Nikitenko, the IMI representative in Kherson oblast.

"The Russians were firing from barrel artillery, GRAD shells were raining down. My colleagues and I lay in ditches for about an hour, then we left for a safer place," freelance reporter Stas Kozlyuk told IMI.

According to him, there were many journalists in the spot that came under fire. Among them are Stas Yurchenko, Lyubomyra Remazhevska, Yevheniy Savilov, Inna Varenytsia, the "Deutsche Welle" and "Suspilne" crews.

"Yesterday I was working near the water on the Korabeliv Square, today I decided to work in another spot, also near the water. I was talking to the evacuees arriving there by boats. All was quiet and peaceful. I just had just recorded the story of a family that had been taken to Kherson from the occupied territory. There were a lot of people around: volunteers from all over Ukraine, rescuers, medics, journalists from around the world. And then the shelling began. We ran at the speed of light and took cover. Fortunately, I was not at the Korabeliv Square. I had already left Kherson," freelance journalist Khrystyna Berdynskikh wrote on Facebook.

According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of 4:00 p.m., there no casualties have been reported; eight people have been injured.

We remind you that on the night of June 6, 2023, the Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovska HPP dam. Cities and villages downstream of the Dnipro started flooding, the locals are being evacuated en masse.

39. Reporters come under Russian fire in Blahodatne

15.06.2023 A team of four media workers came under Russian fire in the recently liberated village of Blahodatne (Donetsk oblast).

Olha Kosova, a freelancer who works with Spanish media, reported this in a comment to IMI.

According to her, the occupiers opened fire with the "Grad" MLRS when they noticed people moving.

There were no casualties.

By now, the media workers have left the village of Blahodatne, Donetsk oblast.

Persecution of journalists, threats, intimidation – 67

1. Roskomnadzor threatens to block access to Krym.realii (RFE/RL) because of reporting on russia's war against Ukraine

26.02.2022 Roskomnadzor threatens to restrict access to the Krym.Realii (RFE/RL) website, accusing the Radio Svoboda project of "spreading an inaccurate information" about russia's new invasion of Ukraine. This was reported by Krym.Realii with reference to the russian department's press office.

"In compliance with the requirements of the Prosecutor General's Office, Roskomnadzor sent a notification about the need to restrict access to inaccurate information to the resources "Echo Moskvy," "InoSMI," "Mediazona," "New Times," "Dozhd," "Svobodnaya Pressa," "Krym.Realii," "Novaya Gazeta," "Journalist," "Lenizdat," the message says.

Roskomnadzor claimed that the sources contained allegedly some inaccurate reports "about the shelling of Ukrainian cities and the deaths of civilians in Ukraine as a result of the actions of the russian Army, as well as materials describing the operation as an attack, invasion or declaration of war."

"Roskomnadzor has also launched an administrative investigation into the dissemination of inaccurate socially significant information in these media. This offense entails liability under Article 13.15 of the Administrative Code, as an administrative fine of up to 5 million rubles," - said in a statement.

As IMI reported, in February, Roskomnadzor demanded from Krym.Realii (RFE/RL project) to take down the news with the comment of the russian opposition politician Garry Kasparov and stories on the russian military conscription in Crimea.

2. In Kherson, collaborationists threaten journalists with torture chambers

4.03.2022 Well-known local collaborationist Kyrylo Stremousov threatens "dissidents" in occupied Kherson with russian tortures chambers. This was reported to IMI by local journalists.

"Everyone who is against the 'russian world', i.e. patriots, activists, journalists, is in danger here. Because Stremousov promises cleansing operations and jail," one of the journalists who remained in the regional center told IMI. 

Namely, in his video address, Stremousov promised a "census" and punishment for "those who lived off grants."

At the same time Stremousov cites the deputy of the russian Duma Vyacheslav Volodin, who said that on March 4 the Duma may pass a law under which all media and even contributors to social networks face up to 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 5 million rubles if they report events in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine are something different from the rhetoric of russian state channels.

In the video, Stremousov calls himself a "russian" who has suffered from "Nazis" and "SSU provocations" for many years. He also lied that the SSU had arrested him. In fact, he was never detained by police, even after the attack on the SSU convoy.

3. Odesa media receive letters threatening them for "complicity in Nazism"

4.03.2022 Odesa media began to receive anonymous letters from the sender "russian Odessa" in russian, titled "Your chance to be savend" (spelling replicated) and contatining threats and a call to "abandon anti-russian activities."

Namely, the receipt of such a letter is confirmed by "Pushkinskaya" chief editor Natalia Korshak. The copy list includes e-mails of other local media: "Media-Inform," "Reporter," "Third Digital," "Dumskaya," 048, "Volnorez," all.news.

A screenshot of the letter was posted on Facebook by Strat Yurchenko, a Graty newspaper journalist.

"Your outlet has performed poorly during the Ukrainian occupation of the city. Your last chance to mitigate the inevitable punishment for complicity in Nazism is to post the attached banner and immediately abandon any anti-russian activities. Retribution is near. There may be no other chance," the letter states.

The banner contains the word "OdeZZa." Letter Z is the symbol marking russian vehicles that have invaded the territory of Ukraine, as well as some russian propaganda content.

4. Paratroopers publish personal information of a Ukrainian journalist

08.03.2022 Pro-russian paratroopers published personal information of a journalist from one of the regions of Ukraine.

This was reported to IMI by informed sources.

Her phone number, passport details, and address were posted on the Internet. The information is only partially true.

The journalist herself notes that this is the first time she found herself in such a situation. He considers the actions of the paratroopers as an act of intimidation and pressure so that she leaves the city and there are no representatives of the Ukrainian media left.

5. Berdyansk journalists ordered to broadcast russian propaganda at gunpoint

09.03.2022 In the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, russian occupiers are forcing local journalists to broadcast russian propaganda at gunpoint.

This was stated by the head of the Zaporizhzhia RSA Alexander Starukh in a video comment posted on  the region administration's YouTube channel, according to LB.ua.

"They wrote down their addresses, their relatives' addresses, and forced them to broadcast all sorts of garbage. They bring, for example, humanitarian aid. It must be distributed – no one came. There are two buses are 'grannies on duty.' They come out, receive it, say how good it feels to live in russia, and they film this as usual and show it on their television. This happened in Melitopol, in particular," said Starukh.

As IMI reported, on March 8, the russian occupiers seized the "Azovska khvylia" radio station in Berdyansk.

Also on March 8, the russian military seized the building of the local media holding PRO100 in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

6. russians threaten the photo journalist who covered the maternity hospital bombing in Mariupol

11.03.2022 A number of russian social media accounts have published threats targeting Ukrainian photojournalist Yevhen Maloletka, who photographed the aftermath of the March 9 bombing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol. The russian troops' crime resulted in the death of three people (including a child), and 17 were injured.

Yevhen Maloletka, who works with international photo agencies, published photos of the ruins and the victims. Immediately, russian propaganda began to spread the narrative that the pictures are all staged and to call Yevhen Maloletka an "anti-russian propagandist."

Immediately after the airstrike, russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov acknowledged the bombing and said there had been "no patients" at the hospital because it had been "captured by Azov paratroopers." After this, the russians found the social media of the pregnant girl pictured in the photos, found out she was a model, and began claiming that the photos were fabricated and harassing her in the comments. The "faking" allegations were even posted on social media by the rf's embassy in Grread Britain. On March 11, it became known that the girl gave birth to a child.

7. russian occupiers threaten Kherson journalist

12.03.2022 russian occupiers threaten to kill Kherson journalist Iryna Staroselets. Iryna Staroselets, Ukrinform's correspondent in the Kherson region, stated this on her Facebook page, "IRS-Henichesk" reports.

The journalist also confirmed this information to the IMI representative in the region.

"The russians are calling and threatening me. They say my name and explain what they are going to do to me," the journalist said.

According to the media, the journalist is actively covering the events in the russian-occupied Kherson region.

We remind that in the occupied territory of the Kherson region, the russian troops make attempts to establish a system of commandant's offices.

8. russian occupiers persecute and intimidate journalists in Berdyansk

13.03.2022 In the temporarily occupied Berdyansk, invaders threaten journalists and their families, forcing them to work for russian propaganda.

This was announced by the head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh during the #UARAZOM telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"In Berdyansk, the occupiers have written down the addresses of journalists and their relatives. They are forcing them to work for russian propaganda. They are threatening their children, parents, and wives. That is, they are trying to perform terror and total intimidation," Starukh said.

He also said that there were many kidnappings in the region. In particular, Mayor Yevhen Matveev was abducted in Dniprorudnyy this morning, Ivan Fedorov in Melitopol, and civil activist Olha Haisumova.

There are cases of abduction in other areas as well.

"There is some information about the mayor of Dniprorudnyy, but none about Ivan Fedorov. We are all working to find him and bring him back to Ukraine, at least to snatch him from the clutches of terrorists," Starukh said.

It will be recalled that in Berdyansk, Melitopol, and Enerhodar, the invaders blocked the Ukrainian media.

9. russia to sue "1+1" TV host Natalia Moseychuk

21.03.2022 The chairman of the Investigative Committee of the russian Federation  Aleksander Bastrykin instructed to initiate a case against the Ukrainian TV host of the 1+1 TV channel Natalia Moseychuk, DM reports, citing the department's press office.

They will try to bring the TV host to justice and put her on the international wanted list. The reason was that she "verbally threatened russian pilots and their relatives on air." According to the Investigative Committee, Natalia Moseychuk  "expressed a misanthropic position and real threats."

According to russian media, the video of the broadcast from Moseychuk became public after it was spread on the telegram channel by ex-MP Ilya Kiva.

Recently, during the United News’s telethon, Natalia Moseychuk made comments as to reports of another bombing of Ukraine. She reminded of the responsibility of the military and their relatives. In particular, Natalia Moseichuk said that the wives of the russian invaders should be "afraid and understand that sooner or later" they will be widowed. She advised the fiancées of russian pilots to "find black headscarfs."

It should be noted that on March 20, the russian Telegram channel Troika announced a "hunt" for Moseychuk. The channel's admins urged subscribers to send any information to the host's relatives and friends, and "we will entertain you with news about their fate in the near future."

In the evening of the same day, the Telegram channel published the personal data of the host.

"Moseychuk Natalia Nikolaevna… how much cryptocurrency do you think our citizens can throw so that when you out of your apartment… in Kyiv ... you get your head cracked through with an ice axe for your message to the families of our pilots? We think that there are people in your Sumeria who will do it for half a Bitcoin and live stream it)" written in the channel.

It should be noted that this Telegram channel also publishes personal data of Ukrainian servicemen.

10. russian invaders break into the house of Tokmak newspaper editor

21.03.2022 Late in the evening on March 21, the russian invaders broke into the home of the editor of a local newspaper "Nashe Misto-Tokmak" (Zaporizhzhia region) Vitaly Holod. He reported this on his Facebook page. 

According to him, the invaders came to his house at about 10 pm.

“Yesterday, March 21, at about 10 pm, the ruscists (russian+fascists – n/tr) broke into my house. Because I was absent, the door was broken, things and documents were searched, and the computer system block was stolen," the editor wrote. 

As Vitaliy Holod told the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region, he had been informed of the break-in by his neighbours.

"There were not soldiers, but representatives of the Interior Ministry or the FSB. I know all their soldiers, because every day since February 28 we have been holding rallies against the occupation. The soldiers behaved appropriately," he said.

According to him, on March 21, at 9.30 pm, deputy Plaksina was abducted, and at 10.10 pm they came to him.

“As my neighbors told me, at first they knocked on the door like everyone else, then knocked forcefully, and then followed the mounts or crowbars. My acquaintances have already sent me a photo of the broken door. We know that the computer and documents were confiscated. But I don't know what documents they took," Vitaliy Holod said.

According to Vitaliy Holod, he was not injured and is currently outside the occupied city.

11. Invaders come to the home of Melitopol journalist's parents

21.03.2022 The russian invaders came to the place of the parents of Kateryna Danylina-Levochko, the correspondent for the "Industrialnoe Zaporizhzhia" editorial office in Melitopol, on March 21 at 4 a.m. 

The journalist reported it to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region. 

"Yesterday, March 21, at 4 am, the occupiers came to my parents' apartment, where I have not lived for nine years. Only my father was at home, my mother left the city the day before the war. They were looking for me. It is unclear why they came there. At the same time, they didn’t come to our apartment of me and my husband. They searched the parents' house and checked the father's phone," Kateryna said.

According to her, her father was asked whom she worked for, as well as information about the owner of the Melitopol Information Department, Mykhailo Kumok. Probably, the journalist notes, this was due to the fact that she had been working for that media.

According to Kateryna Danylina-Levochko, she is currently safe outside Melitopol.

12. European Pravda receives threatening letter about "tough interrogation and prison terms"

25.03.2022 The online edition European Pravda received an e-mail threatening the staff with "tough interrogations and prison terms" in case of russian occupation.

The editor-in-chief of the edition Serhiy Sydorenko reported about it on Facebook.

The journalist told IMI that the letter had reached the editorial office and had been signed by some Mesrop Bryzgalov.

The letter said that russia's Investigative Committee had opened criminal cases against all journalists under the article "extremism."

"All your contacts and personal data have been handed over to russian law enforcement authorities," the letter read.

The anonymous promised that when the russian army would take the settlements where journalists live, they will face "tough interrogations rounds and prison terms." Journalists are also offered to resign "right now" to witness and avoid a "real punishment."

Serhiy Sydorenko posted a screenshot of the letter on Facebook.

As IMI reported, in early March, Kherson collaborator Kirill Stremousov threatened the "dissidents" in occupied Kherson with russian imprisonment.

Odesa media received anonymous letters from the sender "Russkaya Odessa" in russian with the topic "Your chance to be savend" (spelling replicated) with threats and a call to "give up anti-russian activities."

13. Zaporizhzhia 061.ua website receives threats

25.03.2022 The editorial board of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received a threatening letter. The letter was signed "Aizon Atayev" and sent from mail.ru, which is banned in Ukraine.

This was reported to the regional representative of IMI by the staff of the site.

The letter, in particular, read: "All data of your media staff are leaked to FSB officers in  russia. Each of you who does not stop cooperating on the Ukrainian propaganda of the Zelenskyy regime will be punished under Article 205 'Terrorism' of the Criminal Code."

The letter offers to find out for yourself what prison terms will be threatened under this article in the near future, in particular, by reading the Criminal Code of the russian Federation.

As IMI reported, a similar letter was received on March 25 by the online publication Europeyska Pravda, and journalists were threatened with interrogation and imprisonment.

14. Anonymous user threatens Hlavkom journalists with imprisonment for "terrorism"

25.03.2022 Staff of Hlavkom began receiving anonymous e-mail threats. 

According to Hlavkom, the threatening letter was signed by the user Akmol Plastinkin and came from the email address [email protected].

"All the data of the staff of your media has been leaked to the officers of FSB of russia," the user wrote.

The anonymous author said that every employee of the Hlavkom who "does not stop working for the Ukrainian propaganda of the Zelenskyy regime" will be punished under Article 205 "Terrorism" of the Criminal Code of the russian federation.

"Akmol Plastinkin" also threatened that Hlavkom employees would face imprisonment "in the near future."

The journalists believe that they are threatened because of reporting on russian-Ukrainian war.

15. Another Zaporizhzhia newspaper received letter threatening with tortures

25.03.2022 On March 25, the Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua received a letter to the editorial office with threats and demands to the editorial staff to resign, otherwise they would be subjected to interrogations and torture.

The website's chief editor told this to the IMI representative in the Zaporizhzhia region.

According to him, the letter came in the afternoon from the user "Abdulhamid Govorov" from the banned mail in Ukraine mail.ua. The letter, in particular, states that the investigative committee of russia has opened a criminal case against all employees of the publication. 

"The case has been opened under the article "Extremism." All your contact and personal data have been handed over to russian law enforcement. After the russian army occupies the settlements where you live and work, you will be interrogated with tortures and imprisonment," the letter said.

It also emphasizes that media workers can appear as witnesses in the case and avoid "real punishment" if they "immediately resign from the media" in which they work. A photo of torture of civilians by people in military uniform and masks was also attached to the letter.

As IMI reported, two editions have already received similar letters – "European Truth" and the Zaporizhzhia site 061.ua. They are also threatened with interrogation and imprisonment under the articles "extremism" and "terrorism." Employees of Hlavkom have also received anonymous e-mail threats.

16. Krym.Realii receives threats about imprisonment in Siberia

27.03.2022 "Krym.Realii" media outlet received an e-mail with threats of imprisonment in Siberia for "spreadinf fakes about the russian army."

The editorial staff of Krym.Realii reported this to IMI.

The letter came from the user "Andrian Sudiropoulo" through the mail.ru mail service (banned in Ukraine).

The letter, in particular, states that the russian army "will soon occupy all cities of Ukraine and a military tribunal will be established to investigate the war crimes of Zelenskyy's regime and its accomplices."

"All journalists and Ukrainian media persons who promote the neo-Nazis and spread fakes against the russian army will be prosecuted and given real prison terms. It is not too late to resign, sabotage the orders of your leadership and side with russia. Otherwise, penal colonies of the FBS of the russian federation in the territory of the Siberian Federal District are waiting for you," the anonymous user's letter reads.

17. Vilne Radio editorial staff receives email threats

28.03.2022 The editorial office of Vilne Radio in Donetsk region received email threats. This was announced by Vilne Radio's director Anastasia Shibiko on her Facebook page.

"Vilne Radio's email box receives different things: people ask to find their relatives, take them out of the occupation, change the mayor, find weapons, food, etc., make a name for themselves, punish someone. But there are also things like this," Anastasia wrote.

In a comment to the IMI representative, Anastasia noted that she did not know who wrote the threats. "No, I do not know. This is sent via the feedback form on the radio's website. We simply googled the email, it says that it belongs to some Moscow company. But idk, to be honest, it's very superficial," said Anastasia Shibiko.

The editorial office has not yet decided how they will react to these letters.

"I don't know how to react, to be honest. It looks more like an attempt to intimidate me than real threats. But if there is a place to send a statement, I will definitely send it," Anastasia added.

18. Zaporizhzhia site 061.ua under threats again. This time threats of prison in Siberia

28.03.2022 On March 26, Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received another letter with threats and demands to resign. The regional representative of IMI was told about it by the staff of the website.

This time the letter was signed by "Radiy Ryzhkov" and sent from the mail.ru, which is banned in Ukraine, again.

The letter, in particular, says that soon the russian army "will occupy all cities of Ukraine, the interim authority would be established in Ukraine and the military tribunal to investigate the war crimes of the Zelenskyy regime is to be set up." 

"All journalists and employees of the Ukrainian media who were engaged in propaganda to please the neo-Nazis and spread fakes against the russian army will be prosecuted and sentenced to real prison terms," ​​the letter reads.

The author of the letter urges the editorial staff to "resign immediately until it's too late", recommends to sabotage the orders from the media leadership and "switch to russian side". If these conditions are not met, journalists are threatened with correctional labor in russian colonies in the Siberian Federal District.

We remind on March 25, several Ukrainian media have already received similar letters – "European Pravda," "Hlavkom," and the Zaporizhzhia sites 061.ua and inform.zp.ua. They were also threatened with interrogation and imprisonment under the articles "extremism" and "terrorism."

Krym.Realii media outlet has received an email containing threats of imprisonment in Siberia for "spreading fakes about russian army."

19. For the third time, Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua threatened by russia

28.03.2022 The website 061.ua in Zaporizhzhia received the third letter of threats on March 28. This was reported to the regional representative of IMI in the Zaporizhzhia region by the staff of the site. The letter was sent from the mail.ru which is banned in Ukraine from "Lilia Bragina." The subject of the letter reads in Ukrainian: "Look, this is important!"

In particular, the letter reads: "Soon the law of the russian federation will come into force in your city, and all accomplices of the neo-Nazi regime of Ukraine, including Ukrainian media, will be prosecuted for criminal actions in support of Zelenskyy's Banderite regime."

The report urges journalists to refrain from replicating anti-russian fakes about the russian military, "it's not too late."

It will be recalled that on March 25, several Ukrainian media received anonymous letters with threats – European PravdaHlavkom and Zaporizhzhia sites 061.ua and inform.zp.ua. They are threatened with interrogation and imprisonment under the articles "extremism" and "terrorism."

"Krym.Realii" media outlet received an e-mail with threats of imprisonment in Siberia for "spreading fakes about the russian army."

20. Editor-in-chief of Zaporizhzhia site threatened with jail

30.03.2022 The editor-in-chief of the Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua Eric Brynza receives threats from russian numbers in his telegram messenger. He reported about it to the representative of IMI in the Zaporizhzya region.

Eric Brynza said he had received the first message from an unknown number with the code of the russian federation on March 30. In particular, it read: “In fact, every piece published on your resource constitutes a crime under several articles of the Criminal Code. When russian troops occupy your city and liberate it from the Banderites, you will be held accountable for the crimes of the trash hole you work for. Get ready, it will happen soon. "

The next day, on March 31, the editor-in-chief received a new message from another issue of the russian federation, saying that "russian soldiers" would soon be in the city, releasing him from the "Banderites" again. To do this, the author writes, "the russian army is regrouping its troops in Kyiv and Chernihiv regions and then will go on the offensive." "You will have to answer for the replication of anti-russian fakes and for discrediting the russian federation. You will be responsible for all this under russian law. Your curators from the SSU and Zelensky's gang will not help you. You will be in jail! ” threatened the sender.

On April 3, Eric Brynza received a new message, following the same pattern. "Every time you publish anti-russian fakes in the pages of your "media" in favor of the neo-Nazi propaganda of Zelensky's puppet regime, remember that soon the russian army will establish control over all liberated cities of Ukraine and you will have to answer for their criminal actions," it is said in the message.

21. Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia

03.04.2022 Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia – the editorial team received three more threatening letters between April 7 and 9.

The team shared this with IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The letters were sent from the mail.ru service. The emails' topics read: "For reading. IMPORTANT," "Read and think," "Must read." They are yet again about facing criminal responsibility for "spreading fakes and lies."

"All the staff of Ukrainian media and websites who spread fake news and lies about the actions of russian troops on Ukranian territory and cover for the banderites will face criminal prosecution in the nearest future. No one will go unpunished," says the email sent on April 7 by user "Alexander Medvedev."

The next email, from Artem Krasilnikov, recommends the editoial staff to "learn some prison slang, for you have very few moments of freedom left."

On April 9, the team received another letter from Artem Osipov that briefly informs that "every media person spreading propagandist fakes will soon be held accountable with all the severity of russian federation's law."

On April 11, the team received a letter from Artem Krasilnikov again, threatening interrogation and incarceration. The email states that "soon all the journalists who support Zelenskyy’s neonazi regime will be sent to investigating authorities to be questioned and charged, with subsequent deployment to penal facilities."

22. Roskomnadzor threatens to block "Trybun" media after a news report about russian shellings of Rubizhne and Popasna

06.04.2022 Rubizhne newspaper "Trybun" (Luhansk region) received a letter from Roskomnadzor demanding to delete the news report about the shelling of Rubizhne and Popasna by the russian occupiers.

This was announced by the editor-in-chief of "Trybun" Oleksiy Artyukh.

If the editorial office refuses, Roskomnadzor threatens to block the media in russia.

Oleksiy Artyukh notes that "a compromise solution has been proposed." He added a screenshot of the response of the editors, in russian:

“We offer a compromise option. There are two chairs: one with upturned pikes, the other with half-liter bottles. Which one will you sit on, and which one will you seat putin on? Russian warship, go fuck yourself! Glory to Ukraine! With contempt, the editorial board of the socio-political columnist 'Trybun.'"

Despite the fighting in the Luhansk region, 'Trybun' does not stop working and continues to cover events in the region.

23. Two Volyn media outlets receive threats from russia

07.04.2022 Two Volyn media outlets received emails with threats from russia.

The editorial staff of "Volyn Online" and "Konkurent" shared this with the IMI representative.

The letters were sent from the mail.ru email service (banned in Ukraine) and contain threats of criminal prosecution for "fakes and lies about the actions of russian armed forces in Ukraine."

As the editor of the "Volyn Online" news website Maryana Metelska, on April 7 in the afternoon a letter in russian has been sent to the editorial staff's email by the user "Vladislav Yefremov."

This email read: "All the staff of Ukrainian media and websites who spread fake news and lies about the actions of russian troops on Ukranian territory and cover for the banderites will face criminal prosecution in the nearest future. No one will go unpunished."

The journalist told that she has not received such letters before. Maryana Metelska attempted to reply to the letter and advise the sender to follow the russian warship. However, she could not send the email, as an error message popped up that the mail.ua domain address was not found.

The editor of "Konkurent" news agency Andriy Luchik has also received a similar letter. The email was sent by the user "Konstantin Lavrentiev."

The journalist stated that before the letter arrived, a man with a Moscow phone number had called him, offering certain website maintenance services, to which the editor replied, "What do you need, moskalyk?" and sent the man after the russian warship.

24. "Novyny Poltavshchyny" editors receive threats from occupiers via email

07.04.2022 On April 7, the editorial staff of "Novyny Poltavshchyny" communal informational agency received an email threatening criminal accountability for alleged spreading of fake news and lying about the russian troops' actions on Ukraninan territory.

The head of "Novyny Poltavshchyny" Yurii Nikolaev reported this to the IMI representative in Poltava region.

According to him, the editorial staff received the first letter from user "Ilya Nekrasov," the second one – from "Artem Krasilnikov," both sent from mail.ru addresses.

"All the staff of Ukrainian media and websites who spread fake news and lies about the actions of russian troops on Ukranian territory and cover for the banderites will face criminal prosecution in the nearest future. No one will go unpunished," – such message, but written in russian, was sent to the editorial team.

According to the journalist, the editorial team had received such threatening letters before, around 5-6 times in total.

"I tried to tell them to follow the russian warship's course, but the email would not go through. I tried twice," said Yurii Nikolaev.

25. Volyn media keeps receiving threats from russia

11.04.2022 Volyn's "Konkurent TV" channel and "Volyn Online" website received threatening emails sent from russia. The emails contain "recommendations" concerning the journalists' responsibility for covering the actions of the aggressor state and its army.

The media's editors shared this with IMI's representative in Volyn oblast.

As "Konkurant TV" editor Oleksandra Kruteyeva stated, on April 8 the editorial email address received a letter from user "Nikolai Petukhov." The letter contained a message in russian: "Soon all the journalists and media persons will have to answer according to all the severity of russian law, because russian troops are already moving towards Kyiv. I recommend you learn some prison slang, for you have few moments of freedom left."

The "Volyn Online" editor Maryana Metelska received a similar letter on April 8. On April 9, she received the thrid threatening letter. "For spreading misleading information about the actions of russian troops and promoting Zelenskyy's regime, all journalists will face criminal responsibility with subsequent deployment to penal facilities," the email says.

On April 11, Maryana Metelska received the fourth letter from russians. This letter, written in russian by user "Artem Krasilnikov," was threatening that all journalists who support Zelenskyy's "neonazi" regime will be sent for questioning and charged, with subsequent deployment to penal facilities."

We remind that on April 7, two Volyn media outlets – "Konkurent" and "Volyn Online" information agencies – received threatening emails sent from russia. In these emails, journalists are threatened with criminal responsibility for "fakes and lies about the actions of russian armed forces in Ukraine."

26. Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia

11.04.2022 Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia – the editorial team received three more threatening letters between April 7 and 9.

The team shared this with IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The letters were sent from the mail.ru service. The emails' topics read: "For reading. IMPORTANT," "Read and think," "Must read." They are yet again about facing criminal responsibility for "spreading fakes and lies."

"All the staff of Ukrainian media and websites who spread fake news and lies about the actions of russian troops on Ukranian territory and cover for the banderites will face criminal prosecution in the nearest future. No one will go unpunished," says the email sent on April 7 by user "Alexander Medvedev."

The next email, from Artem Krasilnikov, recommends the editoial staff to "learn some prison slang, for you have very few moments of freedom left."

On April 9, the team received another letter from Artem Osipov that briefly informs that "every media person spreading propagandist fakes will soon be held accountable with all the severity of russian federation's law."

On April 11, the team received a letter from Artem Krasilnikov again, threatening interrogation and incarceration. The email states that "soon all the journalists who support Zelenskyy’s neonazi regime will be sent to investigating authorities to be questioned and charged, with subsequent deployment to penal facilities."

27. Journalists from Zaporizhzhia's inform.zp.ua website receive threats of interrogation and incarceration sent from rf

12.04.2022 More than six messages with threats were sent from russia to the editorial email address of Zaporizhzhia’s inform.zp.ua website, as well as to its chief editor Erik Brynza privately, from April 6 to 11. Some of the emails are written in verse.

Eric Brynza shared this with IMI’s representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

According to him, the editorial email account received two such letters lately. The first one is from "Artem Osipov," the second one from "Artem Krasilnikov." Both letters were sent from mail.ru addresses on April 8 and 11 respectively. In these emails, the authors are threatening the editors’ team with criminal prosecution in accordance with russian federation’s laws on "promoting fakes," "supporting Zelenskyy’s neonazi regime," and "spreading misinformation about the actions of russian army."

According to the website’s editor, he received four private messages with threats via Telegram on April 6, 7, 8, and 9. All were sent from russian phone numbers, two were written in verse and contained threats about criminal prosecution, interrogations, and incarceration. For example, one message reads: "Deceiving the public with your agenda, spreading fakes for your propaganda, don’t you get a suspicion that Zelenskyy is a liar? Are you ready, through capitulation, with penal institutions as the place of your emigration, to meet such a shameful end?" The private messages also repeatedly state that all the journalists who "support Zelenskyy’s neonazi regime" will be sent "to investigating authorities to be questioned and charged, with subsequent deployment to penal facilities."

28. russians keep threatening Volyn journalists

13.04.2022 "Konkurent" news agency and "Volyn Online" website received threatening emails from russia again.

The media's editorial teams shared this with IMI representative in Volyn region.

Namely, on April 11, "Konkurent" editorial email address received a letter from user "Artem Krasilnikov" written in russian. The letter threatens interrogation and incarceration upon all journalists who support Zelenskyy's "neonazi" regime.

On April 13, "Volyn Online" editor Maryana Metelska received a rhymed email in russian with such contents:

Prepare to change your microphone

Prepare to change your camera

For obscene criminal jargon

And a dirty prison chamber.

We remind that in April, several threatening emails have been sent to the editorial staff of the "Konkurent" website, "Konkurent TV" channel, and "Volyn Online."

29. "Volyn Online" editorial staff receives poem-threats from rf

15.04.2022 "Volyn Online" website editor Maryana Metelska received the sixth threatening letter from russia.

She shared this with the IMI representative in Volynska oblast.

On April 15, the editorial email address received a message from user "Alexei Sazonov" written in russian and containing the following poem:

russian troops are liberators

Their operation saves lives and stability

And you, propaganda spreaders,

Will not escape criminal responsibility.

We remind that on April 13 the editor of the "Volyn Online" website Maryana Metelska received a poem via email that contained threats of incarceration.

Earlier, threatening emails have been sent to the editorial staff of the "Konkurent" website, "Konkurent TV" channel, "Volyn Online," and Racurs.ua.

30. Zaporizhzhia 061.ua website editors also receive poem-threats from rf

15.04.2022 Editors of Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua received new threats about incarceration of journalists. This time the threats, written in verse, were sent on April 13 and 15.

The website's staff shared this with the IMI representative.

The April 13 email, signed "Artem Osipov" and sent from a mail.ru address, reads: "Prepare to change your microphone, prepare to change your camera for obscene criminal jargon and a dirty prison chamber!"

Shortly after, on April 15, the editors received one more letter from Alexei Sazonov with the call "Think carefully!" and a different rhyme: "Deceiving the public with your agenda, spreading fakes for your propaganda, don’t you get a suspicion that Zelenskyy is a liar? Are you ready, through capitulation, with penal institutions as the place of your emigration, to meet such a shameful end."

We remind that on April 15 the "Volyn Online" website editor Maryana Metelska received the sixth threatening email from russia, in verse this time.

Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia: four emails threatening incarceration have been sent to the staff on April 7 to 11.

31. Volyn journalist receives 11 incarceration threats from rf during the month

16.04.2022 Since March 15, "Racurs.ua" journalist Yurii Konkevych has received 11 emails that contained incarceration threats.

He has shared this with the IMI representative in the Volyn region.

According to the journalist, he had first received rhymed threats from user "Alexei Sazonov" on April 15.

"Deceiving the public with your agenda, spreading fakes for your propaganda, don’t you get a suspicion that Zelenskyy is a liar? Are you ready, through capitulation, with penal institutions as the place of your emigration, to meet such a shameful end?"

The  journalist noted that earlier, the editorial staff's email address had received messages stating that virtually every article on the website where he works constituted violation of several articles of the Criminal Code of rf.

We remind that on April 15, the editor of the "Volyn Online" website Maryana Metelska received the sixth threatening email sent from russia. Such emails have also been sent by different users to the editorial staff of "Konkurent" website and "Konkurent TV" channel.

32. russian occupiers threaten Oleh Baturyn's family

16.04.2022 "Novy den" (Kakhovka, Kherson region) journalist Oleh Baturyn reported that the russian occupiers are threatening his family members that stayed on the temporarily occupied territory.

Baturyn shared this on April 16 on his Facebook page.

"My relatives that stayed on the temporarily occupied territory began to receive threats. Such 'regards' are being passed to them from the russian occupiers. My family is very scared. The russians demand that I cease my professional work in journalism," the journalist wrote.

As IMI has reported, on March 12, Oleh Baturyn, a journalist from Kakhovka (Kherson region) had gone missing. He had been released on March 20.

Law enforcers began criminal proceedings for alleged abduction of Oleh Baturyn by the russian occupiers in Kherson region. The case has been opened for violation of laws and customs of warfare (Article 438 p. 1 of the CC of Ukraine).

Oleh Baturyn is convinced that he had been abducted and held captive for eight days because of his journalist work and active citizenship.

33. Zaporizhzhia's 061.ua website threatened with tribunal yet again

17.04.2022 Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua keeps receiving threats from russia – a new email to the editors arrived on April 17.

The editorial staff reported this to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The email has been sent by "Nikolai Petukhov" from a mail.ru address. Again, it threatens the journalists that russia is going to occupy large Ukrainian cities very quickly and the media is going face a tribunal.

"After russia occupies all Ukrainian cities, it will establish a war tribunal for everybody who supported the nazis' regime led by Zelenskyy. All journalists will be held accountable for spreading fakes about the rf and promoting the ukronazi regime," the letter says.

34. Mariupol 0629.com.ua receives threats about imprisonment in Siberia

20.04.2022 The editorial staff of Mariupol city website 0629.com.ua received an email threatening them with imprisonment in Siberia. The website's editor Anna Murlykina reported this.

She posted a screenshot. The letter was sent from [email protected] address by user "Dima Burov."

"If you are not afraid of RF FBS's penal colonies in Siberian federal district, you may keep promoting the Ukrainian regime. But prepare some warm clothes at least, for your lengthy vacation to jail is going to be a cold one!" the letter reads.

In her comment, Anna Murlykina told IMI representative that they were receiving similar emails every day. Sometimes several messages a day. They are being sent from different email addresses.

The editorial staff has informed the SSU about this, and the SSU has investigated the addresses from which the emails are being sent. Most of them are tied to russian phone numbers and already blocked.

Murlykina says that usually these letters contain obscene language and open aggression, and this one is different in content and tone, so she decided to share it on her social media.

We remind that on April 16, the 0629 editorial staff reported that they had been under constant cyber attacks for the last three weeks. russian hackers tried to change the website's logo into a russian flag.

35. Volyn media starts receiving threats from russian NoName hackers

25.04.2022 Volyn media outlets "Volyn Online," "Konkurent," and "Konkurent TV" received new threats via email. This time, the senders signed as group NoName057(16).

This is reported by IMI representative in Volyn region.

Namely, on April 24, the editors received letters in russian with the following content:

"V is for VICTORY, Z is for OURZ, game's over for you and your lying propagandist mouths."

On April 25, the editorial team received another poem:

"Once there was a little journalist, a propagandist, a conformist. And his fascist nazi of a daddy was a comedian and a drug addict. For the dad there was always a lot to be done: to gather his gang, do a shelling or two, for the son to note it all down, go online and post the hullabaloo. It has been going on for some months in a row, and all around, lies and swastikas have grown. Daddy was very glad you could not go back. But soon came liberators, fascism fighters and truth proliferators, with one hand they captured the fascist father, and his little son they grabbed with the other. Think carefully, journalists, apply all your reason – neither you nor zelenskyy will evade prison!"

Earlier, the media outlet had received threats of interrogation an imprisonment.

We remind that on April 22, "Detector Media" was targeted by hackers: the site sustained DDoS attacks. The group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called them enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the publication was "discrediting the russian army and spreading russophobic fakes."

The editors of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua have also received threats from the NoName hacker group.

36. RIA-Melitopol editor has been receiving threats from rf for three weeks

25.04.2022 Svitlana Zalizetska, editor of "Holovna Hazeta Melitopola" and the RIA-Melitopol website, has been receiving threats in comments and private messages for three weeks now. She told this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

According to her, threats have been incoming for at least the last three weeks via email, private messages. The editor is also receiving threats via phone calls from unknown numbers.

The letters provided by Svitlana Zalizetska to IMI refer to the same threats of interrogation, torture, and imprisonment that the Zaporizhzhia websites 061.ua and inform.zp.ua systematically receive from russia. They traditionally speak of accountability for fakes and misinformation about the actions of the russian army in accordance with the russian law. Journalists are also advised to "learn prison jargon," threatened with tribunals and being sent to "correctional facilities" for "supporting the Nazis."

"It's a small part of what we get every day. They are simply spamming us from the territories controlled by the russian federation, from russia, and also collaborators have joined them. Basically, they are trying to pressure us psychologically," Svitlana Zalizetska said.

Also, according to the editor, some threats come in the comments from unknown people under their social media posts. They usually contain abusive devaluing vocabulary and threats about the journalist's health and life, such as: "... If because of you (curse word) a Tochka from the UAF strikes at the city, then wherever you and your grandfather live, I will take care of you and kill you myself (curse word)." The same comments contain threats about the journalist's father.

We remind that the russian occupants in Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia region) took hostage the father of Svitlana Zalizetska, editor of "Holovna Hazeta Melitopola" and the RIA-Melitopol website, on March 23. They demanded a meeting with the journalist as a condition for her father's release. However, on March 25, the russian invaders released her father from captivity.

37. Zaporizhzhia's 061.ua website receives threats from russian NoName hackers

25.04.2022 On April 25, the editorial office of Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua received another rhymed threatening email from the russian federation.

This was reported to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region by the website's staff.

Threats came from mail.ru from user "Sasha Isayev." The letter also contained a link to the Telegram channel of the NoName hacker group.

Namely, the message states: "Once there was a little journalist, a propagandist, a conformist. And his fascist nazi of a daddy was a comedian and a drug addict. For the dad there was always a lot to be done: to gather his gang, do a shelling or two, for the son to note it all down, go online and post the hullabaloo. It has been going on for some months in a row, and all around, lies and swastikas have grown. Daddy was very glad you could not go back. But soon came liberators, fascism fighters and truth proliferators, with one hand they captured the fascist father, and his little son they grabbed with the other. Think carefully, journalists, apply all your reason – neither you nor zelenskyy will evade prison!"

We remind that earlier, the editorial office of the 061.ua website has already received similar threats – on March 25, March 26 and March 28, April 3, 4, April 7-11, April 17.

On April 22, "Detector Media" was targeted by hackers: the site sustained DDoS attacks. The group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called them enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the publication was "discrediting the russian army and spreading russophobic fakes."

38. "Volyn Online" editors receive the 10th email with threats

28.04.2022 The editorial office of "Volyn Online" has already received 10 emails with threats from "russian world" advocates. The senders have signed as NoName057(16) group.

The media's editor Maryana Metelska shared this with the IMI representative in Volyn region.

According to her, the latest letter was received today, on April 28. Earlier, several letters have been sent in verse.

"We, the hacker group NoName057(16), warn you and other representatives of your 'media:' unless you stop the surge of fakes about the russian federation, we will keep downing your website. You will have to answer for all your crimes according to the law. Think before it's too late," the letter said.

At the same time, Metelska noted that there were no problems with the website or DDoS attacks.

It will be recalled that on April 24, the Volyn media outlets "Volyn Online," "Konkurent," and "Konkurent TV" received new threats via email. This time the senders signed as NoName057(16) group.

On April 22, "Detector Media" was targeted by hackers: the site suffered a DDoS attack. The group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called the editors enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the media "discredits the russian army and spreads russophobic fakes."

Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua has also received a letter from the NoName hacker group.

39. russian hackers threaten to "down the websites" of Zaporizhzhia media

02.05.2022 Two Zaporizhzhia websites, infоrm.zp.ua and 061.ua, began receiving threats from the hacker group Noname057(16). The letters came from inbox.ru and list.ru email services. In the letters, the attackers threaten to hack the media websites.

This was reported to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region by the staff of the media outlets.

According to the infоrm.zp.ua editor-in-chief Eric Brynza, the threatening letter arrived at the editorial inbox on April 28. The subject of the letter stated: "Important info." "We, the hacker group NoName057(16), warn you and all other employees of your 'media:' until you stop the onslaught of fakes about the russian federation, we will keep downing your website. You will have to answer for all your crimes. Think before it's too late," the letter said.

The 061.ua editorial inbox received a letter from "Cheslava Solovei" on April 30. The content of the letter was even shorter: “You didn't get it the first time – we'll say it again. We will keep downing your websites if you do not stop the pipeline of fakes about russia."

Currently, both websites are functioning.

As IMI has reported, on April 22, "Detector Media" was attacked by hackers: the website suffered a DDoS attack. The group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called the journalists enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the media outlet was "discrediting the russian army and spreading russophobic fakes."

On April 24, Volyn media outlets Volyn Online, Konkurent, and Konkurent TV received new threats to their inboxes. This time, the senders signed as group NoName057(16). Volyn Online has already received 10 emails with threats from the NoName057(16) group.

The staff of Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua has also received a letter from the NoName057(16) hacker group.

40. russian hackers threaten to "down" the websites of Volyn media as well

02.05.2022 Volyn media continue to receive threats from the Noname057(16) hacker group. The letters have been received by Volyn Online, Racurs.ua, and Konkurent news agency on April 30.

This was reported by the website's editors to the IMI representative in Volyn region.

The letters were sent from the list.ru mail service, written in russian, and contained the following: “You didn't get it the first time – we'll say it again. We will keep downing your websites if you do not stop the pipeline of fakes about russia."

Andriy Luchyk, editor of the Konkurent news agency's website, told the IMI representative that a DDoS attack had been carried out on the website on the evening of May 1. The attack on the website was quickly repelled.

The editor of the Volyn Online website, Maryana Metelska, said that there had been no DDoS attacks on the website yet. The website works as usual.

We remind that similar letters from the Noname057(16) hacker group have also been received by two Zaporizhzhia websites – infоrm.zp.ua and 061.ua.

41. Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua receives new threats from rf

05.05.2022 On May 3, the editorial office Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua received another rhymed letter with threats sent from the russian federation.

The editorial staff reported this to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The threats came from mail.ru email service and were sent by user "Irina Chukarova." The letter threatens criminal liability: "Russian troops are liberators, their operation saves lives and stability, and you, propaganda spreaders, will not escape criminal responsibility!"

We remind that earlier, the editors of the 061.ua website had already received similar threats – on March 25, March 26 and March 28, April 3, 4, April 7-11, April 17, April 25.

42. russian occupiers threaten Kharkiv media and attack their websites

04.05.2022 A number of Kharkiv journalists received personal threats from the russian occupiers, and DDoS attacks are being carried out on the websites where they work.

The editors of KHARKIV Today, Slobidsky Krai, Nakypilo, InsiderNews, and 057.ua reported this to IMI representative in Kharkiv region.

"Or website is constantly under DDoS attacks. Once, a letter came from some scammers, i think they were threatening to bring the website down and were demanding $ 5,000. Roskomnadzor wrote to us, demanded to remove a post and threatened to block the website in russia, although they have already blocked us back in 2018, I believe," a KHARKIV Today journalist said.

A letter about a criminal case being opened and threats of interrogation and imprisonment was received by the edoitorial team of the Kharkiv city website 057.ua. In addition, the journalists are receiving calls from russian phone numbers threatening personal violence.

The published videos and photos of russia's crimes in Ukraine have led to threats against three members of the Nakypilo media group, as well as a DDoS attack on the website. The editorial team received the following message: "You didn't get it the first time, so we'll say it again. We will continue to bring down your websites unless you stop the pipeline of fakes about russia."

Slobidsky Krai and InsiderNews also suffered attacks on the websites. "Nobody wrote to us, there has been an attempt to hack the website's admin account in late February – early March. And then Roskomnadzor just blocked the website in russia," commented the editor-in-chief of InsiderNews.

All media outlets have taken additional digital security measures and continue their fight in the information field.

43. russian hackers threaten Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua again

06.05.2022 Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received threats from the Noname057(16) hacker group again. Yet another email arrived on May 5 from an inbox.ru address.

The editorial staff reported this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The sender of the letter signed as "Alexandrovich Tsisar." The letter contains a rhyme with the Latin letters used as symbols of the russian occupiers. "V is for VICTORY, Z is for OURZ! Game's over for you and your lying propagandist mouths! Regards from NoName057(16)!" the email reads.

As IMI reported, on April 22, Detector Media was attacked by hackers: the website suffered a DDoS attack. The NoName057(16) group claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called the journalists enemies of russia and said they were attacking them because the media outlet "discredits the russian army and spreads russophobic fakes."

On April 24, Volyn media outlets Volyn Online, Konkurent, and Konkurent TV received new threats via email. This time, the senders signed as group NoName057(16). Volyn Online has already received 10 e-mails with threats from the group NoName057(16).

Also the NoName hacker group has sent emails to Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua and infоrm.zp.ua.

44. Two Volyn media outlets receive threats about accountability for "russophobic fakes" from russians

10.05.2022 The editors of Volyn.Online and Konkurent news agency received threats from the Noname057(16) hacker group again.

This was reported by the editors to the IMI representative in Volyn region.

Namely, on May 9, the editorial office of Volyn.Online received an email in russian with the following text: "Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers defeated the Nazis in 1945, and we will defeat the neo-Nazis in 2022! We are doing the right thing! The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!"

According to journalist Maryana Metelska, this is the 15th email they've received from the "russian world" representatives. However, they do not always write new threats. Maryana Metelska has received the same threats from Noname057(16) three times.

Konkurent editor Andriy Luchyk said that on May 9, they received threats of the following content: "All of Hitler's accomplices had to answer for their actions. Don't you think that you will also have to answer for your russophobic fakes, discrediting the actions of the russian armed forces and lying to your own audience? And, perhaps, very soon."

According to Luchik, the editorial office has already received a dozen letters from the russians.

Earlier, russian hackers had threatened to "down the websites" of Racurs.ua, "Konkurent" news agency, and "Volyn Online."

45. Two Volyn media outlets receive threats about accountability for "russophobic fakes" from russians

10.05.2022 The editors of Volyn.Online and Konkurent news agency received threats from the Noname057(16) hacker group again.

This was reported by the editors to the IMI representative in Volyn region.

Namely, on May 9, the editorial office of Volyn.Online received an email in russian with the following text: "Our grandfathers and great-grandfathers defeated the Nazis in 1945, and we will defeat the neo-Nazis in 2022! We are doing the right thing! The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!"

According to journalist Maryana Metelska, this is the 15th email they've received from the "russian world" representatives. However, they do not always write new threats. Maryana Metelska has received the same threats from Noname057(16) three times.

Konkurent editor Andriy Luchyk said that on May 9, they received threats of the following content: "All of Hitler's accomplices had to answer for their actions. Don't you think that you will also have to answer for your russophobic fakes, discrediting the actions of the russian armed forces and lying to your own audience? And, perhaps, very soon."

According to Luchik, the editorial office has already received a dozen letters from the russians.

Earlier, russian hackers had threatened to "down the websites" of Racurs.ua, "Konkurent" news agency, and "Volyn Online."

46. Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua receives emails with new propaganda talking points

10.05.2022 On May 9, the editors of the Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua received an email from russians that contained a new rethoric. It mentions "Western donors" and "supervisors from the Ukrainian secret services."

This was reported by the staff members to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

Namely, an email from "Alexandrovich Tsisar" with the subject "Must be read", sent from the mail inbox.ru, reads:

"The money you receive for inciting hatred against russians will not save you. Your supervisors from the Ukrainian secret services and the government will forget you as soon as their own skins are in danger. Your Western donors, curators, and sponsors will not help you, either. You will just be thrown away as used things that aren't needed anymore." The letter was signed by the hacker group NoName057(16).

Earlier, russians had threatened a number of Volyn and Zaporizhzhia media outlets with imprisonment, interrogation, and torture.

47. Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua threatened by russian hackers

10.05.2022 The editors of Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua have received three new threatening letters between April 30 and May 5. Two of them were signed by the hacker group NoName057(16). This was reported by the editor-in-chief of the website Eric Brynza to IMI representative in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The letters came from mail.ru addresses. Namely, the letter dated April 30, from the sender Cheslava Solovei, says: "You didn't get it the first time – we'll say it again. We will keep downing your websites until you stop the pipeline of fakes about russia." The signature contained a link to the Telegram channel of the hacker group Noname057(16).

On May 2, the editorial office received another letter, this time from Iryna Chyurakova, with rhymed threats. The message read: "Russian troops are liberators, their operation saves lives and stability, and you, propaganda spreaders, will not escape criminal responsibility!"

And on May 5, the editorial mail received another threat from hackers Noname of the following content: "V is for VICTORY, Z is for OURZ! Game's over for you and your lying propagandist mouths! Regards from NoName057(16)!"

According to the website's editor-in-chief, threatening emails from russia come systematically. To reduce the flow of threats, the editorial office decided, in particular, to block all messages from unknown numbers on Telegram.

48. russians send threats to Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua again

17.05.2022 On May 15, the editors of the of Zaporizhzhia city website 061.ua received another threatening email from russia, warning them of criminal responsibility under russian law.

The website's staff reported this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

Namely, the letter from user "Salavat Golovenkina" reads: “Have you heard that the Ukrainian authorities have already been issued a secret order to move all gold and currency reserves out of the country? Soon Zelensky will run away. And all those who supported the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime, including informational support, will be held accountable for their crimes under the law of the russian federation. Get ready, propagandists!”

We remind that earlier, the editors of the 061.ua website had already received similar threats – on March 25, March 26 and March 28, April 3, 4, April 7-11, April 17, April 25.

The editorial team has also received several threats from NoName057(16) hacker group.

49. russians begin to threaten journalists with nuclear weapons

19.05.2022 The editors of the "Syla Pravdy" Center for Journalistic Investigations received threats about nuclear weapons from russia.

This was reported by "Syla Pravdy" manager Yuriy Horbach to the IMI representative in Volyn region.

The email in russian arrived to the editorial office on May 18: "You Banderites, Galicia and Volyn are our Russian land of the Ruriks. Your building is surrounded by FBS commandos! Resistance is useless! Come out with your hands up and put your hands on the ground! One attempt to sick the Jewish devil on our souls – and you're all dead! We will rip you apart and burn you with napalm, run you over with tanks! If the OUN-UPA resists, we will strike Galicia and Volyn with nuclear weapons, which we have and you don't!"

The sender of the letter is Pavel Ivanov-Ostoslavsky. The text was accompanied by various pictures depicting russian soldiers.

According to Horbach, this is the first time that the editorial team received such a letter.

Earlier, threats have been received by the editorial offices of Volyn.Online, Rakurs.ua, Konkurent news agency, and Konkurent TV. Most threats had to do with imprisonment, torture, and interrogation.

50. Zaporizhzhia website 061 receives threats of trials and imprisonment from russia again

23.05.2022 The editorial office of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received a new batch of threats from russia. Journalists are being threatened with lawsuits under russian law and with imprisonment for spreading "anti-russian fakes."

This was reported by the website's staff to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

Thus, on May 20, the editorial office received a letter from the bk.ru email service from Galimdzyan Tsvetnova with the following content: "By spreading anti-russian fakes against russia, you are paving the way to a prison cell for yourself, dear propagandists. You will not escape responsibility with all the severity of russian law."

The next day, May 21, the editorial office received another email with the topic "Responsibility is not far off!" from "Maram Kiryutina." The letter was sent from the list.ru email service. "You are all in the hands of russian law enforcement officers as accomplices in the crimes of the so-called Ukrainian authorities against civilians. When the russian army comes to your cities, you will have to answer to the court for all your offenses," the email said.

We remind that earlier, the editors of the 061.ua website had already received similar threats – on March 25, March 26 and March 28, April 3, 4, April 7-11, April 17, April 25, May 15. The editors have also been threatened by NoName057(16) hacker group.

51. Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua threatened from russia again

24.05.2022 The editorial mail of the Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua received another threatening message from russia. The employees of the online publication were told that russian law enforcement officers already have their personal details.

The website's editor-in-chief Eric Brynza told this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

According to him, an email from user "Raurd Zhukanova" has arrived from the inbox.ru email service on May 21. The email with the subject "Heads up, they are coming for you soon!" reads: "The personal details of all employees of your media have are long in the hands of russian authorities. That is why you will soon be held accountable for all the crimes you have committed in support of Zelenskyy's Banderite junta!"

According to the editor-in-chief, the number of such threats has decreased. If earlier, the editorial office used to receive them almost every day, now the number of such letters has significantly decreased.

We remind that the inform.zp.ua publication had been receiving threats from the russian federation regularly.

52. russians threaten 061.ua journalists with jail, advise them to pack warm clothes for Siberia

25.05.2022 The editorial office of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received another batch of threats due to its journalistic activities. This time they were advised to start packing their warm clothes for Siberia. The editors reported this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

On May 25, the journalists received a letter like this from user Ulyana Gordeeva, sent via list.ru email service. It read: "None of those journalists and media workers who serve the criminal regime of Ukraine will escape punishment for violating the law on journalistic activities! You have a prison term waiting for you! Start packing your warm clothes: it's not so hot in russian prisons in the North and in Siberia!"

53. Roskomnadzor demands that "Vilne Radio" delete content about the russian army's crimes

26.05.2022 Roskomnadzor demands that "Vilne Radio," which broadcasts in Bakhmut (Donetsk region) and the neighboring settlements, remove content about the russian army's crimes against civilians during the first month of the full-scale invasion. The russian institution's demand was expressed in an email to the editorial office, sent on April 14.

"They threatened to block our website," "Vilne Radio" editors said on their Facebook page.

The journalists note that after Roskomnadzor's letter, the number of readers from russia has significantly decreased.

"Yes, a lot of russians who probably liked to see quality content used to follow us," "Vilne Radio" said, adding:

“We can advise russians who want to read up-to-date and truthful information to follow our Telegram channel t.me/DONregion and set up a VPN. (you can learn how to do it here: cutt.ly/KH9iZQm)."

It should be noted that the russian register of banned websites currently contains information about the block of only one of "Vilne Radio's" articles, which was mentioned in Roskomnadzor's email.

It will be recalled that in March, the editorial office of "Vilne Radio," which broadcasts in Donetsk region, received threats via email.

54. russians send threats about imprisonment in Siberia to Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua again

02.06.2022 Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received yet another batch of threatening emails from russia. The media workers are being threatened with imprisonment and colonies in Siberia. The publication's journalists reported this to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

On June 2, the editorial office received an email from user Mikhail Kotov sent via the mail.ru (internet.ru) email service. "If you are not afraid of FPS RF's penal colonies in Siberian federal district, you may keep promoting the Ukrainian regime. But prepare some warm clothes at least, for your lengthy vacation to jail is going to be a cold one!" the email reads.

On June 6, the editorial staff received an email from user Vladislav Pavlov with the content which the editors had already received at the end of May. It again informs the journalists about the fate of Ukraine's gold and currency reserves and threatens them with being imprisoned for their professional activities.

“Have you heard that the Ukrainian authorities have already been issued a secret order to move all gold and currency reserves out of the country? Soon Zelensky will run away. And all those who supported the Ukrainian neo-Nazi regime, including informational support, will be held accountable for their crimes under the law of the russian federation. Get ready, propagandists!” the letter reads.

55. russians threaten "Volyn Online" with interrogations and imprisonment

10.06.2022 The editorial office of Volyn Online has received new threats from russia about interrogations and imprisonment. This is the 19th russian-language letter sent to the editorial team.

This was reported to IMI representative in Volyn region by "Volyn Online" editor Maryana Metelska.

According to her, on June 10, the website received a letter in russian from an unknown user "Valeriy Naumov" with the following content:

"The Investigative Committee of russia has opened a criminal case against all employees of your publication. The case was instituted under the 'Extremism' article of the Criminal Code. All your contacts and personal details have been submitted to russian authorities. After the russian army occupies the settlements where you live and work, you will face third degree interrogations and imprisonment. You can testify in the case and avoid this punishment if you resign from the media you work for right now."

On June 6, the editorial office received a letter suggesting that the current government was not going to stay in power for long and that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy was allegedly fleeing the country. In addition, the email threatened the editors with accountability under the laws of the russian federation for the content they publish.

Earlier, the "Volyn Online" editorial office received threats of prosecution for spreading "lies about the actions of the russian armed forces."

56. Zaporizhzhia website 061 receives threats about interrogations and imprisonment from russia

10.06.2022 The editorial email inbox of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received another letter from russia containing threats of interrogations and imprisonment.

The editorial staff reported this to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

According to the journalists, the editorial team has received such emails before.

On June 10, the editors received an email from user "Anatoly Antonov," sent through the Internet.ru mail service. The letter, in particular, states: "The Investigative Committee of russia has opened a criminal case against all employees of your publication. The case was instituted under the 'Extremism' article of the Criminal Code. All your contacts and personal details have been submitted to russian authorities. After the russian army occupies the settlements where you live and work, you will face third degree interrogations and imprisonment. You can testify in the case and avoid this punishment if you resign from the media you work for right now."

57. Little-known russian NoNames swear to take revenge on 061.ua editors for opening a case against them

16.06.2022 A little-known russian group of hackers who call themselves NoName057(16) threatens to punish the staff of Zaporizhzhia edition 061.ua for the fact that Ukrainian law enforcement authorities have opened criminal proceedings against the group.

This was reported to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region by members of the editorial team.

On June 16, the editorial inbox received a letter from hackers with the subject "On a criminal case against russian hackers," sent through russian email service bk.ru. In the letter, sent on behalf of Eva Yudina, the NoName group is being outraged by the criminal proceedings against them and says that the journalists will be held accountable for "crimes against humanity." In the email, the NoNames use scans of the news published on the IMI website as confirmation of the criminal proceedings having been initiated.

The email initially recognizes Ukrainian law enforcement officers, but later calls them "pseudo-law enforcement officers," and call the Ukrainian "propagandists."

The NoNames admit that they have sent threats to the Ukrainian media, calling them a "warning" about the responsibility they would face for "spreading anti-russian fakes, discrediting russia's actions in Ukraine, and inciting ethnicity-based hatred against russians."

"Cowardly and lying propagandists were so frightened by emails from russian hackers that they immediately ran to snitch to the authorities. Instead of opening criminal proceedings against their own propagandist compatriots, Ukrainian pseudo-law enforcement officers accused group NoName057(16) of 'violating the rules of warfare' for some reason. On behalf of NoName057(16) we declare that there is and can be no justice in Ukraine, and all the lying 'journalists' and their supervisers from neo-Nazi structures who opened criminal proceedings against us are just serving the criminal regime of a former Soviet republic and a Banderite junta, which had seized power after the so-called Euromaidan. Sooner or later, they will be held accountable for all their crimes against humanity and will receive a just punishment. Hackers from NoName057(16)," the email reads.

As IMI reported, Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua has been receiving threatening emails from russians since March. The letters are signed by various users and contain threats of punishment, torture, imprisonment, interrogation. The editorial board has also been repeatedly threatened by the group NoName057(16).

The authorities have opened criminal proceedings for email threats received by Zaporizhzhia editorial offices from russia. The criminal proceedings have been instituted under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code “Violation of the laws or customs of war.” The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years.

58. russian NoNames swear to take revenge on another Zaporizhzhia website

16.06.2022 A group of russian hackers calling themselves NoName057(16) is threatening another Zaporizhzhia newspaper, inform.zp.ua, with punishment for Ukrainian authorities instituting a criminal case against the group.

This was reported by inform.zp.ua editor-in-chief Eric Brynza to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

An email with the topic "On the criminal case against russian hackers" arrived to the newspaper's editorial inbox on June 16. In the letter, signed by Myroslava Alekseeva and sent through inbox.ru email service, the hackers are being outraged that a criminal case has been opened against them and claim that the journalists will be held accountable for "crimes against humanity."

"The Ukrainian authorities have opened a criminal case for an email newsletter to employees of the Ukrainian media, in which the hacker group NoName057(16) warned them of their responsibility for spreading anti-russian fakes, discrediting russia's actions in Ukraine, and inciting ethnic hatred. The cowardly and lying propagandists were so frightened by emails from russian hackers that they immediately ran to snitch to the authorities. Instead of opening criminal proceedings against their own propagandist compatriots, Ukrainian pseudo-law enforcement officers accused group NoName057(16) of 'violating the rules of warfare' for some reason. On behalf of NoName057(16) we declare that there is and can be no justice in Ukraine, and all the lying 'journalists' and their supervisers from neo-Nazi structures who opened criminal proceedings against us are just serving the criminal regime of a former Soviet republic and a Banderite junta, which had seized power after the so-called Euromaidan. Sooner or later, they will be held accountable for all their crimes against humanity and will receive a just punishment. Hackers from NoName057(16)," the email reads.

As IMI reported, on June 16, the little-known group sent an identical threatening email to the editors of Zaporizhzhia's 061.ua.

The authorities have opened criminal proceedings for email threats received by Zaporizhzhia editorial offices from russia. The criminal proceedings have been instituted under Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code “Violation of the laws or customs of war.” The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for a term of eight to twelve years.

59. Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua receives threats from the rf again

29.06.2022 The editors of Zaporizhzhia website 061.ua received two emails with threats about imprisonment for "spreading fakes" from russia. The employees of the editorial office told this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The editorial team received two emails from russia. On June 29, user "Alyona Pakhomova" sent them threats about imprisonment for their activities via the internet.ru mail service. The letter had the following content: "Deceiving the public with your agenda, spreading fakes for your propaganda, don’t you get a suspicion that Zelensky is a liar? Are you ready, through capitulation, with penal institutions as the place of your emigration, to meet such a shameful end?"

The next day, June 30, the journalists of the editorial office received another email that mentioned Judas, "Vlasovites," and "Motherland betrayers."

60. Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua receives threats from the rf again

29.06.2022 The editors of Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua received new threats about imprisonment for "spreading fakes" from russia. The employees of the editorial office told this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

On June 29, the inform.zp.ua editorial inbox received a short email from user "Elmira Afanasyeva," sent via russian mail service inbox.ru. The rhymed letter read, in particular: "russian troops are liberators, their operation saves lives and stability. And you, propaganda spreaders, will not escape criminal responsibility!"

61. Zaporizhzhia media outlet inform.zp.ua receives threats of prosecution from russia again

01.07.2022 Last week, the editors of Zaporizhzhia's inform.zp.ua received two emails with rhymed threats from russia.

The website's editor-in-chief Eric Brynza informed the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region about this.

On July 1, an email from user "Elmira Afanasyeva" with the subject "Very important!" arrived to the editorial inbox from the russian mail service inbox.ru. In it, the author threatened the staff of the editorial office with criminal responsibility for their journalistic activities – in rhymed form again. In particular, the letter stated: "russian troops are liberators, their operation saves lives and stability. And you, propaganda spreaders, will not escape criminal responsibility!"

Not long after, on July 4, the editors received another email from "Yana Vlasova" with the subject "Reminder." In the email, also sent through russian mail service inbox.ru, the author "reminded" of the following: "V is for 'victory,' Z is for 'ourz!' Game's over for you and your lying propagandist mouths!"

According to inform.zp.ua editor-in-chief, they have already received emails with identical content before.

62. Zaporizhzhia media outlet 061.ua receives threats of imprisonment from the rf

01.07.2022 Zaporizhzhia media outlet 061.ua received two threatening emails from russia. The editorial team reported this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

On July 1 and 4, 061.ua editorial team members received two emails with threats. The first letter with the subject "Important!" was sent by "Evdokia Eliseeva" from mail.ru. The letter contained a link to the group noname057(16), which is famous for its moralizing slogans, insults, and rhymed poem-threats. This time, journalists were told the following: "Propagandist, your path is sad. Deceiving the population is the first step, not even hiding that you're an Ukronazi. But the second step is your imprisonment! noname057(16)".

In the second email, dated July 4, the journalists were promised that "the game is over" for their "lying propagandist mouths." The letter was sent from the inbox.ru mailbox with the subject "Reminder" from "Nina Egorova."

63. Zaporizhzhia media outlet inform.zp.ua receives threats of imprisonment from the rf

07.07.2022 Zaporizhzhia media outlet inform.zp.ua received a threatening email from russia. The editorial team reported this to the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region.

The inform.zp.ua editorial inbox received a letter with the subject "Responsibility notice," sent from the russian mail service inbox.ru by user "Rudolf Kubekin" on July 7. In particular, it read: "The Investigative Committee of russia has opened a criminal case against all employees of your publication. The case was instituted under the 'Extremism' article of the Criminal Code. All your contacts and personal details have been submitted to russian authorities. After the russian army occupies the settlements where you live and work, you will face third degree interrogations and imprisonment. You can testify in the case and avoid this punishment if you resign from the media you work for right now."

Such emails with threats about the occupation of all cities, torture, and imprisonment have already reached the editorial offices several times.

64. Zaporizhzhia's inform.zp.ua receives threats of imprisonment from russia again

12.07.2022 Employees of the Zaporizhzhia website inform.zp.ua received yet another threatening email about imprisonment in the colonies of Siberia from the russian federation.

The website's editor-in-chief Eric Brynza informed the IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region about this.

The email was sent to the editorial inbox on July 12 via the russian post service bk.ru, signed by "Shomurod Miroshyn." In the letter, the author reported that the journalists have become subjects of criminal cases for "spreading, under the guise of reliable reports, of unreliable information about the actions of the armed forces of the russian federation."

The email also states that "in the near future, after the russian army occupies your city, you will be forcibly taken to one of the nearest courts of the russian federation for a sentencing process. After that, a prison term in one of the penal facilities of the russian FPS, which is located in the Siberian Federal District, awaits you."

The occupier offers to sign an "agreement on voluntary cooperation with the authorities of the russian federation".

As reported by IMI, Zaporizhzhia media outlets have been receiving threats from russia since March. The last time inform.zp.ua received threats from russia was on July 7.

65. Volyn Online receives new threats about "Banderite junta" from russia

15.08.2022 On August 15, the editors of Volyn Online received an email demanding they "do not spread fakes about russia." The website's editor-in-chief Maryana Metelska informed the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information about this.

A user signed as Mylo Korpachan sent an email of the following content to the editorial inbox:

"You do understand that as soon as Zelensky's Banderite junta is in a pinch, they will all flee and leave you to take responsibility for the crimes you committed together? Before it's too late, sabotage the orders of the Ukrainian Nazis who are forcing you to write untrue articles and spread fakes against russia."

This is not the first threatening message that Volyn Online has received from russia. The website's editor Maryana Metelska has received threats, even in rhyme. According to the editor, on August 15, she received the 20th letter of similar content.

66. Volyn Online receives new threats about "Banderite junta" from russia

15.08.2022 On August 15, the editors of Volyn Online received an email demanding they "do not spread fakes about russia." The website's editor-in-chief Maryana Metelska informed the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information about this.

A user signed as Mylo Korpachan sent an email of the following content to the editorial inbox:

"You do understand that as soon as Zelensky's Banderite junta is in a pinch, they will all flee and leave you to take responsibility for the crimes you committed together? Before it's too late, sabotage the orders of the Ukrainian Nazis who are forcing you to write untrue articles and spread fakes against russia."

This is not the first threatening message that Volyn Online has received from russia. The website's editor Maryana Metelska has received threats, even in rhyme. According to the editor, on August 15, she received the 20th letter of similar content.

67. russians threaten Zaporizhzhia media inform.zp.ua with imprisonment again

22.08.2022 After a long break, Zaporizhzhia online media inform.zp.ua received another email with threats from russia, related to the website's professional activities. The letter threatens the editorial team with interrogation and imprisonment for supporting "Zelensky's neonazi regime."

This was reported to the regional IMI representative by the website's editor-in-chief Eric Brynza.

The letter to the editors came on August 22 from "Zhanna Prokshina" and had been sent via russian email service bk.ru. "Spreading disinformation about the actions of russian troops will result in administrative and criminal punishment. Soon, all journalists who support Zelensky’s neonazi regime will be sent to investigating authorities to be questioned and charged, with subsequent deployment to penal facilities," the email reads.

Let us remind you that Zaporizhzhia media outlets, in particular 061.ua and inform.zp.ua, have started receiving threatening emails in March, 2022. These emails threaten the journalists with torture, imprisonment, and deportation to Siberia for content that "discredits the russian army" and "supports Zelensky's fascist/neonazi regime." Almost no letters were received in July and August.

Shelling and seizing TV towers – 16

1. russian troops seize TV tower in Melitopol and forcefully stop the broadcast of Ukrainian channels

27.02.2022 Broadcasting has been stopped in Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia region), since russian troops took TV tower. The TV channel MTV Plus was forced off.

This was announced on February 28 by the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting.

"The analog transmitter was launched quickly and the broadcasters held the fort to the last. But the russian occupiers forced MTV Plus to stop broadcasting. There is also no broadcasting in Primorsk, Berdyansk and Tokmak," the statement reads.

Also, the situation in Chernihiv region is complicated. The occupiers are targeting the TV tower, four missiles hit nearby. Some broadcasters stopped working and resumed work. Suspilne continues to broadcast.

In Kupyansk, Kharkiv region, a local TV and radio company managed to evacuate the equipment before the city was captured, so the occupier will not be able to use the air for propaganda activities.

2. russians shell Kyiv TV tower

27.02.2022 russian troops struck at the Kyiv TV tower. This was reported by Suspilne and eyewitnesses on social media. 5 people dead, 5 other wounded.

"The occupiers hit the broadcaster's hardware on the TV tower. The telecast may be suspended for a short time. In the near future, the backup broadcasting of some channels will be switched on.

"For now, you can follow the radio stations. The RADA channel is also available on YouTube," the Center for Strategic Communications said.

"Currently, you can watch Ukrainian television on the regional Multiplex MX-5. We ask citizens to use the search for channels on their TV to gain access to regional channels," add the State Special Service.

3. russian troops shell Kharkiv TV tower

02.03.2022 russian troops shelled a television tower in Kharkiv. This was reported by Detector Media with reference to the information of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting; the TV tower remained intact.

However, the shell damaged a nearby building.

The broadcasting has ceased. The Broadcasting, Radiocommunications and Television Concern (BRTC) proceeds with restoration work.

According to Suspilne, the Kharkiv TV tower sustained the air strike. Two projectiles landed nearby at 12:55 p.m. The staff was evacuated, and there are no reports of the injured.

We remind that after a series of explosions in Kyiv, the TV signal disappeared. Broadcasting of TV channels has been temporarily suspended, digital channels continue to be broadcast by providers and satellites. The projectile hit the broadcaster's hardware on the TV tower. Subsequently, the broadcast channels in T2 were restored.

4. Invaders shell Lysychansk TV tower

02.03.2022 In Lysychansk, Luhansk region, russian troops shelled the TV tower. This was reported by Adviser to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Herashchenko.

"The occupiers struck at the TV tower in Lysychansk," he wrote.

The shell hit the area near the tower, where there are residential buildings, the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting reported to the Media Detector.

Broadcasting is made in multiplexes MX-1 and MX-5. The broadcasters working on the tower were evacuated.

5. Korosten TV tower destroyed by an air strike

02.03.2022 In Korosten, Zhytomyr region, on March 2, one of the checkpoints was hit from the air and the Korosten Media TV tower was destroyed. Television broadcasting has stopped in the town.

This was announced by Natalia Chyzhevska, Deputy Mayor of Korosten, speaking to Suspilne: Zhytomir.

The attack took place at about 3 p.m.

“We are in touch with the chief doctor of Korosten hospital. Four people died, he said. Currently, doctors are fighting for the life of five more victims in the hospital," Natalia Chyzhevska said.

6. russian aircraft shells TV tower in Kharkiv again

06.03.2022 In Kharkiv, russian aircraft shelled a TV tower. TV broadcasting was temporarily suspended.

This was reported to "Suspilne Kharkiv" by the spokeswoman for the head of the military administration Oleh Synehubov.

There is currently no TV signal. According to preliminary information from rescuers, russian aircraft shelled the TV tower on Pavlov Field.

There is also information about the missile strikes in the area of the Square of the Heavenly Hundred, said the spokesman of the region's SES Evhen Vasylenko.

As IMI reported, on March 2, russian troops fired on a TV tower in Kharkiv.

7. TV tower damaged in Sumy region as a result of a russian air strike

06.03.2022 A TV tower was damaged on March 9 in the town of Bilopillya, Sumy region, as a result of an air strike by russian troops.

This was reported by the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.

"According to preliminary information, as a result of an enemy air strike on the premises of Bilopillya radio and television station, a TV tower was damaged and a metal trailer next to it which was used as a warehouse caught fire," the statement says.

At 11:15 p.m., the fire was extinguished, no one was killed or injured.

8. Invaders strike at Rivne TV tower

14.03.2022 On the morning of March 14, the russians fired on and damaged a television tower in Rivne region. This was announced by the head of the Rivne Regional Military Administration Vitaliy Koval.

Two explosions were heard at about 5:20 a.m.

"As a result of the air strike, the TV tower in Rivne region was damaged. Appropriate services are working on the spot. Details are being clarified," Koval wrote.

TV and radio broadcasting is partially non-existent in the region.

"There is some good news: several people have been evacuated from the rubble, they are alive and do well. Rescue is on. It is clear that the enemy was up to cut people off from true information. But we do not see a big problem in this situation, because many people are already watching online, listening to the radio through applications. We hope that in the near future we will restore radio and television through the tower," Koval added later on Suspilne TV.

The official clarified that as a result of the strike, the TV tower and the administrative building nearby were damaged.

9. russians fire missiles at TV tower in Kyiv region

14.03.2022 On Monday, March 14, at about 8:45 am, the invaders fired a missile at a TV and radio tower in the village of Vynarivka, Bila Tserkva district, Kyiv region. This was reported by the head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration Oleksiy Kuleba.

According to him, the building of the service center was damaged. There are no civilian casualties.

10. russians shell TV tower in Vinnytsia. Ukrainian broadcasting disappears

16.03.2022 On the morning of March 16, the russian occupiers fired on the TV tower of Radio Broadcasting, Radio Communications and Television Concern in Vinnytsia. OTA broadcasting in the city is temporarily unavailable. 

This was reported on the Facebook page of the Verkhovna Rada.

Broadcasting of television and radio channels in the city and surrounding communities has been temporarily suspended, according to Volodymyr Kistion, First Deputy Chairman of the Vinnytsia Regional Council. In particular, it is impossible to receive a signal through T2 tuners and parts of FM radio stations. There are some difficulties to get access to broadcasting of UA:Suspilne, "Armia," "City on the Buh," and other channels. Work is underway to restore the broadcasting.

11. russian invaders shell TV tower in Izyum, Kharkiv region

24.03.2022 This was reported by Maksym Strelnyk, the head of the youth and sports department of the local city council.

According to him, the memorial to the Second World War on Kremyanets Mountain was also ruined.

"russian occupiers are savagely destroying the historical memorial to World War II on Mount Kremyanets in Izyum. As a result of enemy shelling, not only historical monuments but also our television tower was destroyed. ruscists (russian+fascists –n/tr) are worse than fascists! We won’t forget! We won’t forgive! After our Victory, we will restore all our monuments in Kremyanka and be sure we will rebuild a new TV tower, which will be highlighted in yellow and blue. Glory to Ukraine!" Strelnik wrote.

12. Occupiers shell a TV tower in Orikhove, Zaporizhzhia region

25.05.2022 On May 25, the russian occupiers shelled a television tower located in Orikhiv town, Zaporizhzhia region.

This was announced by the spokesman of the Defense Forces in the Zaporizhzhia area, Colonel Ruslan Tkachuk, in his rundown on the Defence Forces' activities in deterring and repelling russian armed aggression in Zaporizhzhia region.

According to the website "Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine," the TV network is broadcasting more than 20 all-Ukrainian and regional TV channels. Among them are Suspilne Zaporizhzhia, TC "TV-5," and TRC "Alex."

13. Russian troops attempt to shell a TV tower in Zaporizhzhia

22.09.2022  Russian invaders fired nine missiles at the infrastructure of Zaporizhzhia on the morning of September 22. One of them fell near the TV tower in the city's center. Head of the Zaporizhia Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh announced this on his Telegram channel.

Currently, it is known that it is not the TV tower itself, but the area around it that was damaged. However, the TV center where the editorial office of Suspilne Zaporizhzhia is located has been damaged: its windows were blown out. As Natalia Andreyeva, head of Suspilne Zaporizhzhia, told the regional IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast, the TV channel's editorial team is currently working remotely.

According to Oleksandr Starukh, the attempted attack on the TV tower is part of a special information operation which the invaders call a "referendum" and which they plan to hold on September 23. In his opinion, in this way, the occupiers are trying to permanently disable the signal of Ukrainian broadcasters on the territory of Zaporizhzhia oblast.

After the shelling, there were problems with TV broadcasting in the city.

In addition, as reported by Suspilne's corporate website, the premises of Suspilne's Zaporizhzhia branch suffered some damage as a result of a Russian rocket attack on Zaporizhzhia on September 22.

The damage is not severe. The windows, TV broadcasting network objects and cars that were on the TRC's territory were damaged. None of the branch's employees were injured.

Suspilne Zaporizhzhia's administration and National Police officers have recorded the scope of destruction, and a criminal case has been opened.

The broadcast of the Pershy, the regional Suspilne Zaporizhzhia, and the Ukrainian Radio channels was not interrupted. The Suspilne Kultura TV channel was unavailable on September 22 from 7:30 a.m. to 3:05 p.m., Radio Kultura and Radio Promin – from 8:30 a.m. to 9:05 a.m.

14. Occupiers destroy a TV tower covering over 200 thousand clients in Luhansk oblast

04.10.2022 Russian troops destroyed a 150-meter TV tower in Komyshuvakha (Luhansk oblast), which had been providing for the needs of more than 200,000 residents of Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts.

This was reported by the head of the Luhansk RMA, Serhiy Haidai.

The TV tower, which was built over a year ago and paid for by the European Union, had been spreading Ukrainian content for a 50 km radius, namely to Popasna, Lysychansk, and Severodonetsk.

"By the way, it had a 4 x 6 m blue-yellow flag flying at its highest point. It was probably bothering the occupiers as they razed everything to the ground on the Popasna axis," Haidai added.

As IMI reported, on September 22, Russian invaders fired nine missiles at the infrastructure of Zaporizhzhia. One of them fell near the TV tower in the city's center. It was not the TV tower itself that suffered, but the area around it. Namely, the TV center where the editorial office of Suspilne Zaporizhzhia is based was damaged.

15. Russian troops blow up a TV center in Kherson

10.11.2022 This afternoon, the Russian military blew up the Kherson TV tower's transmission center. The locals informed IMI's regional representative about this.

According to the interviewees, the TV tower itself is intact.

The Russians also blew up some of the telecom towers and cut off the city's power supply.

You can only catch the signal and communicate with the outside world in the area near Antonivka, which is not far from Kherson.

We remind that on March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal and started streaming their propaganda via T2.

The Russian troops also looted the Suspilne Kherson branch.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by Russian security forces. The case has been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

16. Russians blow up a TV tower in Kherson while retreating

12.11.2022 While retreatig from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnipro, the Russian occupiers blew up a TV tower.

The head of the city's military administration, Halyna Luhova, told Suspilne about this.

"The TV tower in Kherson has been blown up indeed. It is down on the ground. This is true. We are currently taking measures to restore our connection. Because the occupiers completely destroyed the places where our telecom stations' connectivity was strong," said Lugova.

Kherson's "Vhoru" Media Platform published photos of the tower that had fallen down in the Khersonska Fortetsia Park on their Telegram channel.

The photos show that the structure is completely destroyed.

We remind that on March 3 in Kherson, the occupiers took over the premises of Suspilne branch, the staff continues to work remotely. Armed men set up trip wires around the building. In addition, the occupiers, who had seized the television studio and the TV center, cut off the Ukrainian television signal and started streaming their propaganda via T2.

The Russian troops also looted the Suspilne Kherson branch.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the seizure and mining of the Kherson branch of Suspilne Broadcaster by Russian security forces. The case has been opened under Art. 341, part 1 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine: seizure of state or public buildings, facilities, as well as for violations of the laws and customs of war.

A day before fleeing from Kherson, on November 10, 2022, the Russian military blew up the Kherson TV tower's transmission center.

Seizing and attacking media offices – 10

1. russian troops crush Pohlyad TV channel studio in Bucha, near Kyiv

27.02.2022 In Bucha (Kyiv region), russian troops crushed the studio of Pohlyad TV channel on February 27. This was announced on February 28 by the National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting. According to the National Council, the company is now setting up broadcasting from another location. Makariv town is out of electricity, so Avis TV channel is not working.

2. Suspilne.Kherson building seized and mined by russians

02.03.2022 On March 2, five armed russian occupants seized the building of JSC "NSTU" branch "Kherson RD 'Skifia.'" This was reported by the local newspaper "Vhoru."

They immediately turned off the CCTV cameras and inspected the bomb shelter. There were 15 civilians there. Fake rumors that people had been taken prisoner began to spread on social networks.

However, the branch manager Mykhailo Svarychevskyy said that the occupants had released people on the same day. No force or weapons were used against them.

As of March 3, there are no civilians on the territory of the branch. According to eyewitnesses, 15 armed men of Asian appearance were spotted there. They installed tripwires around the building. This was reported to the authorities which have to establish if those were trip flares or mines.

3. russian occupants seize "Azovska khvylia" radio station in Berdyansk

08.03.2022 Berdyansk radio station "Azovska khvylia" was seized by russian troops.

This was reported by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.

As the operational headquarters of the Berdyansk executive committee warns all citizens, the occupiers may be spreading propaganda and anti-Ukrainian information.

"Keep in mind that this is all misinformation and manipulation. Berdyansk is Ukraine!" the message says.

4. russian troops seize the building of Berdyansk mediaholding "PRO100"

08.03.2022 russian troops seized the building of the local mediaholding "PRO100" in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

This was reported on the Facebook page of the newspaper "Berdyansk News".

"At the moment, about 50 of the editorial staff members in the building of the "PRO100" information group have been abducted by the russian armed forces. They aren't letting our boys out. There is no contact with them! russian propaganda is broadcasting on the radio. A sniper is on the roof," the editorial office wrote.

As one of the mediaholding's employees told the IMI regional representative in Zaporizhzhia oblast, a number of armed men had come to the editorial office to talk to editors and journalists and "explain their position," including why they are in the city and what their tasks are. They communicated with the whole team. According to IMI, so far all members of the editorial board have left the editorial office, while the russian troops remained in the PRO100 building.

The mediaholding includes the "Yug" TV company, the "Azovska khvylia" radio station, the "Berdyanski Vidomosti" and "Vidomosti Pivdnya" newspapers.

It is known that leaflets in russian are being distributed all over the city which contain "explainations of the events" from russian perspective, emphasizes the "peaceful intentions" of the troops, mentions the unification of russia and Ukraine. Among other things, the leaflet states that "ignoring the presence of russian authorities in the Berdyansk district by the leadership of the city and the district is considered a criminal offence," and "actions of the leadership, which withdrew from cooperation, are declared illegal until negotiations are held."

As IMI reported, in Berdyansk, the russian occupants seized the "Azovska khvylia" radio station.

5. Suspilne's Mykolaiv branch suffers a missile strike by russian troops

20.04.2022 The night before Arpil 21, during a missile strike on Mykolaiv, russian troops hit the local branch of Suspilne broadcaster.

The branch's management reports this.

No person was killed or injured.

"Suspilne Mykolaiv" continues its work and keeps promptly informing its audience about everything happening in the city and the region.

6. KHARKIV Today office damaged due to the war

31.05.2022 The office and press center of the KHARKIV Today news agency was damaged in the first days of the full-scale russian war against Ukraine.

This was announced by the publication's editor-in-chief Yulia Ageyeva.

According to her, on February 24, the editorial staff did not go to work. And on March 2, the KHARKIV Today office and press center were damaged by missile strikes on the center of Kharkiv. There was no one in the building, so the journalists were not injured.

"The shock wave from the explosions in the buildings of the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs shattered all the windows; one of the windows facing the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was ripped out of the wall together with the frame. The shards cut into furniture, some equipment and documents in the editorial office. In the press center, the interior doors and their doorframes were ripped out. All the houseplants died during the frost, and it is unknown what happened to the communications," Yulia Ageeva said.

A few days later, the surviving equipment was removed. Now the editorial team works remotely within the Kharkiv region. The head of the press center evacuated to Poltava, where he is doing volunteer work.

7. russian occupiers destroy Vilne Radio office in Bakhmut

03.08.2022 On the morning of August 3, russian troops shelled Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast. They targeted and completely destroyed the Vilne Radio office. This is reported on the media outlet's website.

The building which housed the Vilne Radio office was shelled in the morning of August 3.

"The explosion was so powerful that there are no walls left in the office, which had about a hundred square meters of space, and the nearby rooms. Tons of concrete and bricks were scattered over dozens of meters," the media outlet writes.

The shelling attack resulted in no casualties.

Vilne Radio believes that russian troops probably targeted a civilian facility deliberately. Separatist groups on Telegram write that this building used to house the radio office, a cafe, a service station, and a post office.

In her comment to an IMI representative, Vilne Radio executive director Anastasia Shibiko noted that the team had managed to take all the essential equipment for their work away back at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

Citing the building's owner, she noted that at the time of the strike, there were no people inside the building and no one was injured.

"People on the Z Telegram channels wrote that they had been leaking the coordinates, and we assume that this may be true, because every now and then they discuss some object or other, and in a few days it gets hit. They wrote there that there had been Aidar fighters and soldiers in the building, and they were all crushed. This is why we assume that this was a deliberate act. Moreover, they did not hold back with this airstrike," Anastasia Shibiko said.

According to her, the first floor of the building had the only remaining service station in the city, and both military personnel and other residents were its clients. There was also a Nova Poshta branch there. Local collaborators used to spread rumors that the Ukrainian military was allegedly using the branch to mail away looted goods. On the other hand, as the Vile Radio executive director noted, this branch had been closed for several months.

Recently, the editorial office started receiving threats from unknown people again.

"They were wrtiting, 'We will find you!' So, we removed the office address from our website, but it remained on various other websites. I don't know if the threats are related to the shelling, but recently these bots or not-bots have become more active," Anastasia said.

She added that it was the only room in Bakhmut that suited them. "They divided the office into two parts for us, changed the heating system. We had a very good relationship with the landlord. We haven't been paying rent since March. The owners were understanding and issued no bills."

8. russians steal another Ukrainian newspaper brand in Kherson region

08.08.2022 In Beryslav, the occupiers took over the editorial office of the local newspaper "Mayak" and started publishing their propaganda under its brand. This was reported by Nova Kakhovka journalist Oleh Baturyn, Chytomo informs.

The first page contained an article about the anniversary of the Kyivan Rus Christianization, with the headline "One Faith. One Nation. One Country."

"Mayak" is a district social and political newspaper. It is published in Ukrainian weekly on Fridays in Beryslav district, Kherson region. The average print run is on 2,500–3,000 copies. The first issue was published in 1932.

We remind you that the occupiers in Kherson are printing their propaganda under the brand of the "Naddnepryanskaya Pravda" newspaper. Earlier, russians stole newspaper brands in Mariupol and Melitopol.

9. Russian strike on Nikopol damages the building and equipment of Nostalgie Radio

09.03.2023 The Russian missile strike on the morning of March 9 damaged the building of the local radio station Nostalgie in Nikopol (Dnipropetrovsk oblast).

The radio station's CEO, Valery Tereshchenko, informed the IMI representative in Dnipropetrovsk oblast about this.

According to him, all the windows were blown out by the shelling, and a third of the slate roof was destroyed.

"Today, the state of the radio station is unfit for working. The windows are gone, some of the radio equipment is badly damaged, the cable that connects the transmitter to the antenna is damaged. That's why we can't fully operate the radio station yet," said Valery Tereshchenko.

The radio station has partly stopped the broadcasting for now. They broadcast to Nikopol and the Nikopol district, as well as to a part of Zaporizhzhia oblast, namely to Enerhodar. Also, according to the CEO, the police and rescuers have performed an examination and taken the appropriate measures.

At the same time, Valery Tereshchenko cannot say whether the Russian military targeted the building of the radio station deliberately.

"I have no information as to whether they were aiming for the radio station specifically or not. But there are no objects near us that could be attacked, no military warehouses, anything like that. Maybe it was just flying somewhere else and didn't make it. If you systematically speak and provide information about the work of state services, about the events taking place in the city, maybe someone on that side dislikes it. We are six kilometers away from the spot where the shots were fired from, at point-blank range, especially since we are located on a hill," he said.

We remind you that shelling of Nikopol and Nikopol district takes place almost every day. On the morning of March 9, the head of the Dnipropetrovsk OMA, Serhiy Lysak, reported on Telegram that the Russians had fired almost 40 shells on the Nikopol district overnight – on the Chervonogrygorivka community and Nikopol city.

10. Russian shell hits the office of the "Mayak" newspaper in Beryslav

27.03.2023 On March 23, the Russian military shelled Beryslav city, Kherson oblast. The shells damaged an administrative building, a residential building, a museum and the office of the "Mayak" newspaper, "Most" reports.

According to the newspaper's editor, Dmytro Tertychny, the projectile destroyed the roof of the building. According to him, without an immediate intervention, the building will soon become unusable.

With the beginning of a full-scale war, the newspaper stopped working indefinitely.

"We could not work while under occupation. My family and I left because it was extremely difficult to stay in the city. I know that the Russian military were looking for me, they wanted me to work for them. They took my son to a basement and beat him up there," he said.

"Mayak" is a local Ukrainian weekly which has been in print 1932.

The newspaper covers a wide range of topics, focusing on the events in the Beryslav district. In the late 2010s and early 2020s, the newspaper was honored with various awards.

Cybercrimes – 55

1. Channel 5 website hacked

24.02.2022 On February 24, the website of Channel 5 was targeted with hacker attack. The news appeared on the site with a picture of putin and allegedly with demands from the "head of the administration" to surrender one’s arms addressed to all armed units in Ukraine.

2. Babel reports a DDoS attack

24.02.2022 Babel reports that a DDoS attack has been launched against the website. This is said in the Telegram channel of the publication.

"Friends, a powerful DDoS attack is targeting the Babel website. We are doing everything possible to repel it. Follow our social media," the statement reads.

Journalists call on to subscribe to their social media: Facebook and Telegram.

3. Poltavska Khvylya website reports a DDoS attack

24.02.2022 A DDoS attack is targetting the website of Poltavska Khvylya. The site is currently out of function. 

The editor-in-chief of Poltavska Khvylya Vitaliy Ulybin told it speaking to the representative of IMI in Poltava region. 

Poltavska Khvylya has been actively covering developments in Ukraine and providing information on armed hostilities.

The editorial office is going to switch to Facebook and Telegram.

4. In Poltava region, journalists receive a letter with a Google form allegedly from an alleged government institution

25.02.2022 The editorial office of Semenivski Visti (Poltava region) received a letter from an alleged government institution with an information about its community abroad.

The editor-in-chief of the publication Mykhailo Pohribny informed the IMI representative in Poltava region about it. 

The letter is entitled "Important message helping Ukraine" and contains a link to the Google form. Mykhailo Pohribnyi said that they did not open the link.

5. Lutsk news portal Konkurent targeted with DDoS attack

25.02.2022 For several hours in a row, the Konkurent news agency was targeted with DDoS attacks from russia and Germany. 

This was reported by the editor-in-chief of the website of the "Konkurent" news agency Andriy Luchyk to the representative of IMI in the Volyn region. 

According to him, on February 25, for several hours in a row, he and his colleagues could not access the website's administration page.

On its Facebook, Konkurent reported that the latest news from Konkurent are available on Telegram, Instagram, and on Konkurent TV.

6. Kherson's "Novy Den" newspaper website stops opening.

1.03.2022 The website of the Kherson newspaper "Novy Den" newday.kherson.ua has stopped opening. This was announced by the newspaper's journalist Oleh Baturin on his Facebook page.

“My friends, the russians took down the website of the Kherson regional newspaper 'Novy Den' that I work for. Access to the site is blocked, it is unclear when it is going to be restored. I will keep working for as long as I am alive. I will try to post all my texts about what is happening in Kherson region on my page," he wrote.

The journalist's articles will be temporarily published on "Mediaclup Europrostir" website.

7. Suspilne’s website hacked

01.03.2022 Suspilne’s website has been hacked, it will be temporarily out of function. This was reported on the broadcaster's Facebook page.

A virus that destroys files was launched, as the broadcaster reported.

In the meantime, the UA:Pershyy satellite signal is being jammed. The broadcaster is preparing to switch to a backup website. Later, "Suspilne Novyny" reported that the website resumed its work.

8. Hackers attack the Minfin.com.ua financial media website

02.03.2022 Hackers attacked the website of the Ukrainian financial media Minfin.com.ua on March 2, Media Detector reports.

Treeum CEO Ivan Yevtushenko suggested that the attackers probably mistook the media website for the website of the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, due to the similarity of the name and the large number of visitors.

At 10:46 on March 2, the main page of Minfin.com.ua looked like this:

"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword..."

Like most Ukrainian media, the apolitical website Minfin.com.ua has been supporting Ukrainians and the morale of our army in recent days. We have been gathering and publishing information both in the financial field and that which is simply vital in our time. Last week, Minfin has been getting more than 1 million views every day. Maybe that's why it was easy to mistake us for the ministry. But we will gladly accept this blow. And we will consider it just another tactical mistake of the enemy. Glory to Ukraine and all the UAF warriors! " Yevtushenko said.

The editorial office continues its work on Facebook, Telegram and Instagram and encourages the readers to follow the news on these resources or the Finance.ua website.

9. Novoe Vremya website hacked

03.03.2022 On March 3, the website of NV sustained a hacker attack.

"Dear readers, this morning our site was targeted with a powerful hacker attack. Its work will be resumed soon. In the meantime, we continue our work on social media," the newspaper said.

10. Phishing letters are coming from a fake Suspilne account

04.03.2022 On March 4, citizens of Ukraine began receiving emails with suspicious content allegedly from the Suspilne Broadcaster's press office. Please note: Suspilne did not send letters with such an appeal, this is probably a phishing attack!

The letters ask to "unpack" the file and run the program. We ask you not to do this under any circumstances! After all, attackers may steal your personal data this way.

Also keep in mind that the official newsletter from Suspilne comes from the official email [email protected]. Suspilne's press office is available on the website corp.suspilne.media or on the official Facebook or Instagram pages.

We will add, if you have lost the Ukrainian television signal, switch to the Ukrainian Radio (AM and FM across the country) and Suspilne's digital platforms. It is the prompt informing and verification of messages that helps to keep calm and counteract the misinformation by the occupants.

Save pictures or take screenshots and share them in case of disappearance of Ukrainian television or the Internet connection.

11. Zhytomyr.info website under a DDoS-attack: occupier edits a news report on the shelling of settlements

05.03.2022 On the evening of March 5, Zhytomyr.info website sustained a DDoS-attack. The hackers have made changes to the news report about the shelling of settlements, according to the media's website.

According to the newspaper, the website was unavailable for several minutes due to a large number of requests, and readers saw that changes were made to the news report about the shelling of settlements.

"Experts have confirmed that this was a DDoS attack; after access to the website was blocked for users from russia and Belarus, Zhytomyr.info continued to work stably," the newspaper writes.

12. NV website targeted with DDoS attacks for the last five days

11.03.2022 The NV website has been targeted with DDoS attacks for the last five days. This was announced by the editor-in-chief Vitaliy Sych on his Facebook page.

"Today, the US representative to the UN Security Council in her speech mentioned Novoe Vrema as an example of journalists who inform the world about the events in Ukraine despite the risk. […] I am glad that we were able to contribute at least in this way to informing Ukrainians and the world about the atrocities of russians in Ukraine. And I am glad that russians also appreciate our work. For the past five days, they have been targeting our site with DDoS attacks, sending 200,000 requests per second. But the website is still working and will be working. We will continue to inform and support Ukrainians – on the website and on Radio NV," Sych wrote.

He also said that his colleagues were working during the war.

“Today, a shell landed in the backyard of my colleague Anya Moroz, my deputy who runs the magazine NV, in Kyiv region. Three meters from the door, it landed, but did not explode.

Another colleague, journalist Ivan Verstyuk, was less fortunate: today (as well) a shell hit the balcony of his apartment in Borshchahivka, Kyiv. He is alive and well, now he is moving to another apartment," Sych wrote.

As IMI reported, on March 3, NV website has been attacked by hackers.

13. Kherson website "MOST" under hacker attack for several days

13.03.2022 Kherson online media "MOST" has been under hacker attack for several days. This was reported to IMI by the outlet's editor Serhiy Nikitenko.

"On the first day of the war, they managed to "down" the website for two days, but we restored everything and keep working. Yesterday there was a strong DDoS attack again. Our technical service had to disable the site so as not to overload the server," he said.

14. Ukraine 24 TV’s ticker tape hacked, streaming fakes about Zelenskyy's "capitulation"

16.03.2022 russian hackers have broken the ticker tape of Ukraine 24 TV channel and Segodnya website and broadcast a fake message from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about his alleged "capitulation."

Ukraine 24 announced this on their Facebook page.

"This is a fake! Fake! Friends, we have repeatedly warned about this. Nobody is going to give up. Especially in conditions when the russian army is defeated in battles with the Ukrainian army!" the message says.

15. ZN.ua website hacked

16.03.2022 ZN.ua website was hacked, as the editorial board reported on its Telegram channel.

“The website of our publication was targeted with DSS-attack, and we, unfortunately, cannot continue to inform you about the most important things from our main resource. However, we will continue to present the most important news here, ” the statement of 11:10 on March 16 reads.

As of 1:15 p.m., the publication's website is already up and running.

16. Hackers attack Ukrainian media sites and post the russian flag with Z and V letters

17.03.2022 The work of a number of Ukrainian central and regional media sites has been interfered with, some of them have had russian flag and St. George's ribbon posted.

The picture also shows the letters Z and V, which mark the military equipment of the armed forces of the russian federation involved in the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022.

In particular, the cyber attack on the site was reported on the Telegram channel Hromadske Radio.

"Right now Hromadske Radio website (hromadske.radio) has been hit by a cyber attack. Our tech support team is already working on this!" the statement reads.

Censor.Net and "Novosti Donbassa" sites were also hacked.

According to IMI regional representatives, the Kherson site MOST, Volyn sites Pershyy, Buh and Visnyk suffered the same problem.

In Zaporizhzhia, journalists from the "Zaporizhzhia Reporter" stated that the site had been hacked. At about 6 pm, when trying to access the main page of the site's news, a tricolor and St. George's ribbon appeared on the screen. 

The site of the Independent Public Portal has been trageted in Khmelnytskyy region. The site is currently up and running.

The Odessa, sites "Odessa.Online" and "Bessarabia Inform" faced the same problem.

Poltava site "Kremenchuk Telegraph" reported that it is working to fix the problem.

"Novyny Poltavshchyny" reports that the site is temporarily down and is fixing this problem.

The Rivne website Rivne Media was also attacked by russians. The website of the Kolomyia TV channel NTK suffered the same interference. Subsequently, the site ntktv.ua was restored, but it is impossible to open any page. Poltava city website 0532.ua was also attacked.

The reason for the attack

Head of Digital of Hromadske Radio Serhiy Omelchenko said that the reason for the hacking was an attempt at a mass unauthorized display of unacceptable advertising. The source of these shows is one of the most popular Redtram traffic exchange systems in Eastern Europe. Public radio removed the Redtram code from the site and restored access to it.

17. Poltava site Zmist subjected to DDoS-attacks repeatedly

18.03.2022 In Poltava, the website of the online media Zmist (Content) is periodically subjected to DDoS-attacks since the beginning of the russian invasion on February 24.

The editorial staff told this to the representative of IMI in Poltava region.

According to the editors, today, on March 18, the site is down due to technical works.

“The DDoS attacks on us started at the beginning of the war. They also parsed the news reports, but we have stepped up, so it does not hinder our work. On March 18, the site is temporarily down due to technical work on the certificates," they commented to the IMI representative.

They promise to resume the work of the resource soon.

18. Due to russian bots' strikes, Youtube blocked account of PTV UA Poltava TV channel twice

22.03.2022 YouTube has blocked the channel of the Poltava TV channel PTV UA twice, and the channel's broadcasts on Facebook are deleted due to coverage of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine. 

Yulia Kostenko, the editor-in-chief of PTV UA TV channels, reported it on her Facebook page on March 22.

"Hate speech: the main YouTube channel PTV UA has been blocked, broadcasts on Facebook are taken down. We stay on T2 in the region, our Telegram channel keeps working, visit our website and subscribe to all backup sources," she said.

According to YouTube, the reason for the ban was hate speech, the editor told to the IMI representative in Poltava region. According to her, this happened for the second time.

The journalist added that their YouTube channel was currently available, but she thinks it could happen again.

Yulia Kostenko noted that they are being blocked due to russian bots' strikes  on some of their stories on YouTube.

“We receive warnings because of storiess about corpses, even though we blur them, music (putting our own over old videos or photos), shots of aggression and shelling / explosions (sounds). Also for speech: aggressive statements towards the occupants. We often present the horrors of the ruscists' activities, and their bots flood us with hundreds of strikes and comments with statements like "surrender, lay down your arms, you will all die, putin will save you…" said Yulia Kostenko in her comment to the IMI representative in Poltava region.

19. Espresso website unavailable due to DDoS attack

23.03.2022 The website of the Espresso TV channel was targeted with a powerful DDoS attack on the morning of March 23, as the co-owner of the Espresso channel Mykola Kniazhytskyi reported.

"Our Espresso website has been under heavy DDoS attack since this morning. We will fix it soon," he wrote on Facebook.

20. Suspilne website hacked

25.03.2022 A powerful hacker attack is being carried out on the Suspilne news site https://suspilne.media/. Due to this, the site is slowed down. 

This was reported by Suspilne in its telegram channel.

The media notes that it solves the problem and continues to report news on its social networks: Telegram Facebook , Instagram Youtube , Viber and Twitter .

We will remind, on March 1 the site of Suspilne broadcaster was hacked. According to the broadcaster, launched a virus that destroys files. 

On March 4, citizens of Ukraine began receiving e-mails with suspicious content allegedly from the press office of the Suspilne broadcaster.

21. Mind portal targeted with cyber attack from russia

31.03.2022 Journalist business portal Mind reported a cyber attack on a website from russia.

The publication announced this on its Facebook page. 

"Dear friends, sorry: our site was attacked from russia. We will be back soon," the message reads.

22. Kropyvnytsky Photoinform edition lost part of content due to DDoS attacks

31.03.2022 Edition of Photoinform in Kropivnytsky was targeted by a DDoS attack last week, and as a result some of the already published materials were lost. 

This was reported to the regional representative of IMI in the Kirovohrad region by the editor of the publication Igor Filipenko.

According to the editor, technical experts found the attacks from Luhansk.

“The portal was attacked several times during March 21–22. Due to the large number of requests from IP addresses 188.190.92.193 – 74416 requests and 188.190.94.148 – 1389075, the site was blocked. In order for the site to work properly, the data had to be "rolled back" to two weeks ago, so some information from March 10 to 22 was lost," as Filipenko commented on the incident. 

Currently, the media outlet resumed its work.

23. Chernihiv city website 0462.ua targeted with DDoS attack

01.04.2022 The editorial office of the Chernihiv city website 0462.ua reported about a DDoS attack on its resource on the morning of April 1. 

This was reported by the resource on its Facebook page.

"Since the morning our information web resource has been under a powerful DDoS attack. Obviously, our texts hounded the enemy from behind the border. To protect the website, the support service has limited the access for users from outside Ukraine for some time. So, if you visit the site from European or other countries, access to it will be limited. Sorry for the inconvenience, we are working to restore the site as soon as possible and complete for all users," the statement says.

The resource has been actively covering the developments of russia's armed aggression on the territory of Ukraine, recording the crimes of the occupants in Chernihiv region since February 24, 2022.

The site is one of the five most visited in the region.

24. Kropyvnytsky media Zlatopil reports an attempt to "down" their website

01.04.2022 Kropyvnytsky news portal Zlatopil was targeted with a cyber attack, causing disfunction and temporary loss of access to the resource.

This was reported to the regional representative of IMI in Kirovohrad region by the editor of the publication Olena Shenderovska.

"On the night of March 31 to April 1, there was an attempt to hack the site, overloading our server. It is difficult to establish where the attack was launched from, because the attackers used proxy servers. So far, the site has been restored," Shenderovskaya said. 

The editor stressed that since the beginning of the full-scale war of russia against Ukraine, the publication pays special attention to cybersecurity to protect the site from possible hacking and loss of information.

As IMI reported, at the end of March the Kropyvnytskyi edition of Photoinform was attacked by DDoS , as a result of which some of the already published materials were lost.

25. Radio Track undergoing systematic DDoS attacks

05.04.2022 Rivne's most popular media, Radio Track, has been under systematic DDoS attacks since the beginning of the full-scale war in Ukraine.

Mykola Kulchynskyy, editor-in-chief of Radio Track, told IMI about this. 

Radio Track users are often unable to access the page – an error message pops up in the browser.

According to Mykola Kulchynsky, the attack is targeting the Lviv server. The site is failing as powerful attacks are on. The most often, the editorial board is unable to publish materials. Currently, the IT specialists try to fix the problem.

"We have had problems since the beginning of the war. That is, at least since the beginning of March, it happened in outbreaks. Last time, they were very bad. They were such that we had to switched off. You prepare the story, you prepare it, but you can't make it public. You put it, but no one reads it. It was in a different kinds, but these recent days it was simply impossible to work. This is an obstacle to journalistic activity, because we cannot work properly," Mykola Kulchynsky said.

The media is still working. In addition, according to the service "Similarweb," in February, hits rose to more than 2 million.

26. "Rivne Vechirne" website attacked almost three hundred times since the beginning of the full-scale war

12.04.2022 "Rivne Vechirne" website has sustained 249 cyber attacks between February 24 and April 12. Most of the attacks came from Chinese and russian territory.

"Rivne Vechirne" chief editor Bohdan Slonets reported this to IMI.

According to him, 95% of the attacks were repelled, but the perpetrators managed to make the website unavailable for a short while due to DOS and DDoS attacks. The website was down for 24 minutes total. The attacks mostly created issues in uploading content.

"89 attacks were the 'scan' kind, the ones that scan your website to find code vulnerabilities and a way to upload shell and viruses. 158 were DDoS attacks, mostly coming from China – 37%, russia – 34%, TOR network – 16%, Ukraine – 6%, Germany – 4%, and less than 3% from other countries," Bohdan Slonets said.

The website also sustained two direct mass attacks on the VDS (virtual dedicated server) where the website is hosted.

According to the website's editor, the attacks happen when the media reports on the threat of invasion from belarus that borders Rivne region.

According to "Similarweb" platform, in March the website's attendance has grown significantly and now constitutes 2 million visitors.

We remind that the most popular media outlet in Rivne region, "Radio Track," also undergoes constant attacks.

27. Mariupol's website 0629 is under cyber attacks, rf tries to change the logo into the russian flag

15.04.2022 Mariupol city website 0629 has been under continuous cyberattacks for the past three weeks. russian hackers tried to change the website's logo into rf's flag.

The periodical's webside reported this.

According to it, the website is being attacked from tens of countries around the globe, including russia. Not only the Mariupol website, but also other websites of the CitySites network are targeted.

The tech support had had to temporarily block access to the website for users from some countries in order to stop the attacks and stabilize the website's work.

The editorial staff had made the website acessible again on April 14, but at night it was attacked again.

"This time the diversion had to do with the website's logo. It has been deleted together with some other images. The russians tried to change our logo into a russian tricolor! At the moment there is very little information about who did this and how. The tech support team is working on repairs.

We promise: no symbol of Mariupol will disappear. You can not just 'delete it from the page.' Because 0629 is not about pictures and logos. It is about people. And these people will be working and spreading the truth about the city no matter how much trouble that is for our enemy – the russian federation," the periodical writes.

The editorial team encouraged everybody to support them by giving them attention.

We remind that since March 1 Mariupol has been beseiged by russian troops which have ruined it almost completely by air bombing and artillery fire.  The Ukrainian military units are resisting them and trying to hold their ground in the city.

28. "Detector Media" under DDoS-attack

22.04.2022 "Detector Media" was attacked by hackers on April 22: the website is still under a DDoS attack. This was reported by "Detector Media" NGO's project Media Sapiens.

The administrator notes a large number of attempts to log in to the website at the same time. The tech support department is working to restore the website.

The editors apologize for the temporary inconvenience.

At the same time, the "Media Sapiens" and "DM Suspilnoho" websites continue to operate. You can read "Detector Media" on Telegram, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

As of 3.30 pm, the "Detector Media" website is down.

According to Otar Dovzhenko, editor-in-chief of Detector Media, the group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called them enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the publication discredited the russian army and was spreading russophobic fakes.

29. russians hack Zaporizhzhia's "Porohy" website and post their propaganda there

25.04.2022 A Zaporizhzhia website for students and the youth "Porohy" has been hacked on April 24, with russian propaganda being posted there. This was reported to IMI representative in Zaporizhzhia region by the website's staff.

When you try to access the website, a message in russian appears on the home page: "Information about the russian federation's ongoing special operation" with two flags, Ukrainian and russian, on the background.

The text, in particular, said that the russians and Ukrainians "are one people whom the Western world divided" and "put in power puppets, ridiculous 'rulers' and drug addicts." The message also stressed that "russia is not fighting against you, but for you." The authors appealed to the Armed Forces of Ukraine to lay down their arms and called on the civilian population not to take up arms so that they don't "sacrifice themselves at the encouragement from people with no honor or conscience." In addition, the appeal stressed that for russia, Ukraine is "an integral part of our own history, culture, spiritual landscape," mentioning that Ukrainians are "family, related to us through blood and family ties.

The site is currently down and the promotional message is no longer available to the public.

30. LIGA.net website under DDoS attack

25.04.2022 LIGA.net website suffered a DDoS attack on April 25. The media reported this on its Telegram channel.

Due to the DDoS attack, the website temporarily went down.

"Friends, our website is currently down due to intense DDoS attacks. Our specialists are working to solve the problem. You can follow the latest news on our Telegram channel," the editorial team said.

As of 1 p.m., the website has resumed its work.

On April 22, "Detector Media" was targeted by hackers: the site sustained DDoS attacks. The group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for the cyberattack. The hackers called them enemies of russia and said they were attacking because the publication was "discrediting the russian army and spreading russophobic fakes."

31. Powerful cyber attack impedes the work of Odesa.Online media outlet

06.05.2022 On May 5, the editorial office of Odesa.Online received an email with a threatening message from representatives of the NoName057(16) hacker group, after which the publication suffered a cyber attack.

This was announced to IMI representative Odesa region by the media project's manager Vadym Tyutyukin.

The editorial office was warned that "your game is over." On the same day, a powerful DDoS attack began, which has been impeding full operation of the website for the second day in a row.

“We inform you that today, your russophobic and deceitful resource odessa.online was attacked by hackers from NoName057(16). Until you stop your malicious activities of discrediting the actions of the russian federation and inciting hatred against russian citizens on the pages of your website, your resource will continue to fall under our DDoS attacks!" the letter to the editors said.

32. "NikVesti" website is down due to a DDoS attack

18.05.2022 On May 18, Mykolaiv online publication "NikVesti" suffered a DDoS-attack.

The website's editor-in-chief Oleh Derenyuha reported about it to the IMI representative in Mykolaiv region.

According to him, the attack has been ongoing since 15:22, the technicians are working to solve the problem. The publication also turned for help to their partners – Google's Project Shield system.

"As of 3:22 p.m., the NikVesti website is under a DDoS attack and out of function. Exactly two hours later, at 5:22 p.m., the overload on the server has tripled. We are working to resolve this issue. We have also contacted our partners. 'NikVesti' is connected to Google's Project Shield system, which protects media from digital attacks," Oleh Derenyuha said.

He does not deny that the source of the attack is the russian federation.

"It is possible that someone in russia is upset with our content. Last night, for example, we received an official warning letter from Yandex, stating that they are forced to turn off 'NikVesti's' news because the publication with the intercepted conversation between russian soldiers is violates their rules and contains obscene language," Oleh Derenyuha said.

As of 6:18 p.m., the NikVesti website is still unavailable.

33. russians attack the foreign broadcasting platform for several days to block "FreeDom" marathon

30.06.2022 The russian-language international broadcasting of Ukraine was subject to cyber attacks from russia, aimed at undermining the spread of information about the war in Ukraine to the russian-speaking audience by blocking the operations of the "FreeDOM" marathon.

This is said in the statement of the State Enterprise "Ukrainian Multimedia Platform for Foreign Broadcasting," which manages the UATV and "Dom" TV channels, reports Ukrinform.

The cyber ​​attacks continued for several days. The company appealed to the Ukrainian authorities, the investigation is currently underway.

The "FreeDom" marathon is a daily television information project, broadcast in russian and produced both by the State Enterprise "UMPFB" and by partner media groups: Media Group Ukraine, Starlight News, "Inter Media Group," and 1+1 media.

UATV channel is a russian-speaking foreign language channel (coverage of over 60 countries in the world). The russian language broadcasting of the "Dom" channel was launched in 2020 for the audience in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

34. "FreeDom" YouTube marathon stopped due to mass copyright strikes

10.07.2022 On July 10, the live broadcast of "FreeDom's" russian-language marathon on YouTube was stopped due to mass complaints about the copyright infringement.

This was announced by the state enterprise "International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform ​​of Ukraine" (SE IBMPU).

"Due to mass copyright strikes, our most rated accounts – "Ukraina 24," ICTV, TSN, "Hroshi," "Spetskor," 1+1, UATV channel – have stopped their YouTube live marathon. UATV (property of SE IBMPU), which is the main channel for broadcasting the FreeDom marathon, has also received a series of content complaints that can not be verified. However, this became a reason for YouTube's administration to issue a warning, which also affected the channel's ability to broadcast live on the platform," the message reads.

IBMPU considers the mass strikes to be a commissioned campaign, namely due to the impossibility to identify and detect the time stamps of the content against which the strikes were filed; the video hosting did not use any preventive measures, but instantly blocked the marathon's live broadcasts on the media partners' channels. In addition, the complaints were filed simultaneously against all key YouTube channels of the country's major media companies, not through an automatic copyright control system, but individually.

The media companies working on the "FreeDom" marathon appealed to the YouTube administration with propositions to review the procedure for working with the Ukrainian segment of TV production in the context of russia's continuous cyber war against Ukraine.

As IMI reported, in early July, the state enterprise "International Broadcasting Multimedia Platform ​​of Ukraine" reported a continuous cyber attack on its Ukraine-based technological capabilities, conducted by russia.

35. Unknown persons delete "Prestupnosti.NET" YouTube channel and editor-in-chief's Facebook account

10.07.2022 Unknown persons gained access to the personal Facebook page of Mykolaiv online media "Prestupnosti.NET" editor-in-chief Anatoly Chubachenko and deleted it. In addition, attackers took over and deleted the media outlet's YouTube channel. The editors believe that this is all the work of russian special services or russian hackers.

Anatoly Chubachenko told the IMI representative in Mykolaiv region about this.

On the morning of July 10, Anatoliy Chubachenko discovered that an interview recording which had been posted the day before was missing from the "Prestupnosti.NET" website. He saw that the publication's YouTube channel had been deleted by someone. At the same time, it turned out that he had lost access to his own Facebook page, which was later deleted.

"In the morning, I started working and discovered that the website was missing a video of an interview from our YouTube channel, which we had posted on the website a day earlier. It said that the channel had been deleted. I looked into this and ralized that I no longer had access to the email that was tied to this channel. While I was trying to figure out how it all happened, I started getting emails on my personal inbox which said that first the phone number that was linked to my Facebook account changed, then my email changed, then my email was deleted and my password was changed. I lost any way to log in to my Facebook account, and literally a few minutes later my colleagues began to text me, saying that my account was not available, that is, it did not exist, it had also been deleted,” the editor-in-chief said.

The editors do not understand how this could happen. Email and Facebook accounts had two-factor authentication. In addition, the email to which the YouTube account was linked was not linked to his phone.

"That is, I had a password, but there was a two-factor authentication process. And it's exactly the same with Facebook, we still can't figure out how it happened that they were able to access my Facebook account without going through the two-factor authentication that had been set up," he said.

The editors wrote to the support service on both YouTube and Facebook.

"I received a response from YouTube that they would review it within two days, maybe more. As for Facebook, there is no such communication format, so we have to use all the possibilities we had, all that they have, to restore access to the account, but none of them have worked so far. We have no way of resolving the issue, because the attackers simply changed all the emails from the inside, and all the codes for changing the password and restoring access are coming to those emails that had been listed by the attackers," said Anatoliy Chubachenko.

He himself and the media outlet's staff believe that this is all the work of russian special services or russian hackers. He noted that the attackers have tied the hacked Facebook account and YouTube channel to russian email addresses.

"We believe there is a high probability of it having been done by russian special services or russian hackers, because in my case, they listed russian e-mails such as 'mail.ru,' which is not used in Ukraine. This can be explained by the fact that the YouTube channel had so many videos about captured russian soldiers, the Ukrainian army destroying russian equipment, there were a lot of views – some videos got 2 million. And the Facebook account was also hacked, probably because I am the editor-in-chief of a media outlet that actively supports Ukraine and debunks russian fakes in every possible way. We have a large audience. Therefore, this is basically the only explanation for who would feel the need to hack the Facebook account and the email at such a time," Chubachenko said.

Editor-in-chief is asking for help with contacting Facebook and YouTube representatives directly, as he is afraid that they may lose their YouTube channel, which they have been developing for 10 years, and their Facebook page altogether.

36. "Prestupnosti.NET" and "Niklife" websites under DDoS attack

11.07.2022 On July 11, the websites of the Mykolaiv online publications "Prestupnosti.NET" and "Niklife," which are part of the "Ukrainian Media Group" news agency, were subjected to a large-scale DDoS attack.

"Prestupnosti.NET" editor-in-chief Anatoliy Chubachenko informed the IMI representative in Mykolaiv region about this.

"On the evening of July 11, the website was targeted by a large-scale hacker attack. Our website administrators, who help us with its maintenance, were able to repel it with what functionality they already had. We consider it a link in the same chain of events as the hacking of our YouTube channel and my Facebook account. We think that these are the same people who have ties with the russian special services," he said.

Chubachenko considers the reason for the attack to be the editors' professional activities in covering the true facts of the full-scale war that russia has unleashed against the Ukrainian people.

"Towards late evening, the website was restored, and currently both of our websites – Prestupnosti.NET and NikLife – are working normally," he said.

37. TAVR Media under cyber attack: the information about Zelensky's health problems is not true

21.07.2022 TAVR Media radio stantion group reported a cyber attack on the servers and networks of their radio stations.

As a result of the attack, the radio stations aired a fake report that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was in intensive care.

"Today, the servers and networks of TAVR Media radio stations suffered a cyber attack. At the moment, the relevant services are working on resolving this problem.

"We emphasize that none of the information about the health problems of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky is true," the message reads.

38. Attempts to jam Suspilne's satellite signal from russian territory recorded

23.08.2022 Suspilne Broadcaster recorded another attempt to jam the signal of its channels on the Amos satellite. Dmytro Hruzynsky, Suspilne Broadcasting Networks's Director for Organization and Development, informed Detector Media about this.

According to him, on August 23, they recorded a jamming attempt, with the interference coming from russian territory.

"Since the beginning of the russian federation's full-scale war against Ukraine, we have recorded regular attempts at damaging the broadcasting of Suspilne's TV and radio programs, namely through the satellite. My colleagues and I recorded the first such attempt back in March. Then we received documentary confirmation of this from our licensed satellite relay operator, Spacecom. Another attempt happened in late May. And now, on the eve of Independence Day, on the Day of the National Flag, on August 23, they recorded yet another attempt to jam our satellite signal..." Dmytro said.

However, Suspilne's partners – "Telekanal STB" LLC, which uploads Suspilne's television and radio programs to the satellite, and Spacecom, the satellite relay operator – made efforts to ensure that the company remained on air. Although there were obstacles.

Currently, the NPTU is collecting all the necessary papers for a litigation, since there was third party interference in the work of the channels.

"I will say more: technical experts have confirmed that the interference was committed by special radio-electronic means precisely on the territory of the aggressor country. It is no secret that real Ukrainian media, especially such as Suspilne, make the occupiers 'fret,' because the power of truth that Suspilne journalists demonstrate is almost like the weapons our UAF use. That is why I say that after the Victory, both the UAF and Suspilne will be indisputable authorities," Dmytro added.

According to him, Suspilne is now looking for ways to diversify risks for the sake of security. Therefore, according to the board's decision, applications have already been submitted to the National Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting to amend the licenses with regards to the satellite retransmitter.

The media outlet reminds that in March, after the start of russia's full-scale offensive, there were attempts to jam the satellite signal of channels – DDoS attacks and obstruction. Suspilne channels repelled the attacks, but had to switch to a backup satellite. They do not disclose which satellite is currently more secure, so as not to subject themselves to a new flurry of attacks.

In 2016, NPTU (then NTCU) transferred all its channels to the Spacecom satellite Amos. Until now, the telecommunications operator had been the subsidiary of the Swedish group SES, SES Sirius Ukraine, and the state enterprise "Ukrkosmos." STB became the telecommunications operator.

As IMI reported, on March 1, the Suspilne Broadcaster's website was attacked. According to the broadcaster, a file-destroying virus was launched.

On March 4, Ukrainian citizens started receiving emails of suspicious content, allegedly coming from Suspilne Broadcaster's press office.

On March 25, Suspilne's website suffered a powerful hacker attack.

39. "NikVesti" website suffers a DDoS attack

24.11.2022 On November 24, Mykolaiv online publication "NikVesti" suffered a DDoS attack. The media outlet's editor-in-chief Oleh Derenyuha informed the IMI representative in Mykolaiv oblast about this.

According to him, the website has been under attack since 12:15 p.m., and tech support was working on solving the problem.

Derenyuha added that the website worked intermittently. "It's not just the power shortages. Since 12:15, the site has been under a DDoS attack. This is not the first time that they tried to meddle in our work in the course of the war. We are working on restoring the website," Oleh Derenyuha said.

At 17:40, the publication's website was functional.

The editors of the publication believe the attack on the website has to do with Russian "cyber troops". Yesterday morning, one of their Telegram channels posted information about the website with a call to "down it".

We remind that the publication's website suffered a cyber attack on May 18. Back then, Oleh Derenyuha didn't deny that the attack's source was the Russian Federation. "It is possible that someone in russia is upset with our content. Last night, for example, we received an official warning letter from Yandex, stating that they are forced to turn off 'NikVesti's' news because the publication with the intercepted conversation between russian soldiers is violates their rules and contains obscene language," Oleh Derenyuha said.

40. Russian hackers attack "Detector Media" website

27.11.2022 On November 27, the website of the online publication "Detector Media" suffered a DDoS attack. The publication reported this on their Telegram channel.

"Russian hackers are attacking our site again. We are doing everything we can so that you can open the site," the editors wrote.

The cyber attack began in the evening after the "Narodnaya Cyber Armiya" Telegram channel posted a message proclaiming the DM website as the chosen "new target".

As IMI reported, the Russian group NoName057(16) carried out a DDoS attack on Detector Media on April 22.

In her comment to IMI, the head of "Detector Media", Natalya Lygachova, reported that on November 27, 2022, after the Russian Cyber ​​Army called for an attack on the detector.media website, the load on the site's server started increasing, which indicated that a DDoS attack may have begun.

"We decided to activate cloudflare (protection against DDoS attacks), which we had installed earlier. The protection turned on and started checking the website's visitors, opening a protective page for each new visitor, detecting the attacking bots. But the load on the server didn't decrease – it kept growing, approaching the critical point for the website's functioning, and the site would not always open in the browser. After talking to tech support for cloudflare and the server hoster, we decided to switch to internal algorithms against DDoS attacks.

"After that, during an activity check, we detected the attacking subnets and blocked them manually. During the next few hours, we recorded new attack attempts from new subnets, which were also blocked," Lygachova said.

According to her, thanks to the measures taken to identify and block the attackers, the load on the server decreased and the website was fully operational within 12 hours.

41. "Poltavska Khvylia" says Facebook bots are mass flagging their post about a serviceman

19.12.2022 "Poltavska Khvylia" editor-in-chief Vitaly Ulybin says that their Facebook post about a Ukrainian defender who adjusts the fire of the Ukrainian artillery has been removed. He believes it is due to bots mass flagging the post.

Ulybin wrote about this on his Facebook page and informed the IMI representative in Poltava oblast.

As Vitaly Ulybin explained, Facebook is blocking the post because of the video that it contains.

"In the video, an air reconnaissance commander talks about how they work, what systems they use. Most likely, it is bots that are being used to take it down. Facebook itself allowed this video and even allowed it to be promoted through advertising. But time and again throughought the day, the advertising has been canceled, and the post has been taken down," said the editor.

Ulybin noted that the editors had decided to embed the video into the article and publish it on his Facebook page to check whether the issue had to do with Facebook's algorithms.

"But that post was also taken down. They said it violates their Community Guidelines. Facebook is blocking the article because of the video in it," said the "Poltavska Khvylia" editor-in-chief.

"Facebook doesn't have the content analysis capacity to do an in-depth check of the context of a YouTube video embedded in an article. Our theory about bots is also supported by the fact that the post on my page suddenly gained a large outreach – 112,000 people. However, it was not reflected in likes, reposts and comments. So, these were just some random accounts that did not interact with the post, but simply flagged," noted Vitaliy Ulybin.

It will be recalled that on July 27, 2022, "Poltavska Khvylia" received a letter from Roskomnadzor with a demand to remove the news item with a tutorial for making a Molotov cocktail and it was reported that the access to the resource has been restricted in russia. The editors responded with a picture in which the demands of the russian federation were being "sent along the course of the russian warship."

In September, "Poltavska Khvylia" received an email from Roskomnadzor with a demand to delete a news article "How to burn an occupier: a recipe for a Molotov cocktail." If was not taken down, the access to the website in russia would be restricted.

42. Ukrinform reports a cyber attack

17.01.2023 "Ukrinform" news agency reports that their website suffered a cyber attack and was temporarily down. The agency reported this on Facebook.

"Ukrinform" advised the subscribers to read all news on their social media.

Later, the agency reported that it was working as usual. The website says the attack was powerful, but provides no details.

Later, the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine reported that Ukrinform may have been hacked by the Sandworm group, which has ties to the Russian GRU.

"The state Computer Emergency Response Team of Ukraine (CERT-UA), which operates under the State Special Communications Service, is investigating the cyber attack on the Ukrainian National News Agency 'Ukrinform', which occurred on January 17. The Russian Telegram channel 'CyberArmyofRussia_Reborn' has already boasted  of the hackers' 'achievement', however, in reality, the attackers failed to interrupt the agency's work," the State Intelligence Service notes.

CERT-UA employees promptly localized the threat.

According to the experts' preliminary data, the hackers carried out a centralized launch of the CaddyWiper malware in order to violate the integrity and availability of information with the help of group policy (GPO).

Taking into account the attack's characteristic features, CERT-UA assumes that the cyber attack was carried out by UAC-0082 (Sandworm). This group is associated with the Chief Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces (GRU). This group is among those that attacked Ukraine most often in 2022.

Also, the state Computer Emergency Response Team notes that the aforementioned Telegram channel has been repeatedly used to highlight Sandworm's malicious activity along with typical reports about DDoS attacks and defaces.

The data-destroying CaddyWiper malware was first detected in Ukraine in mid-March 2022.

Sandworm hackers also used it in a large-scale cyber attack on Ukraine's energy sector last April.

43. Russian hackers stream a fake address from Zelensky on Channel 24

Russian hackers streamed a fake address by the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, on Channel 24. This was reported on the Channel 24 website.

Nevertheless, the channel notes, they managed to restore broadcasting quickly.

According to the channel, on February 6, the satellite station that transmits the Channel 24 signal through the AMOS satellite was attacked. "Unfortunately, some cable operators are still receiving this signal for further distribution, so this attack affected their packages," the channel notes.

At the same time, the channel says, all other channels delivering their signal – MEGOGO, KyivStarTV and other OTT providers, most cable TV operators and the ASTRA satellite signal, as well as online streaming channels – work as usual.

As IMI reported, in March 2022, Russians hacked the ticker tape of Ukraina 24 TV channel, as well as Segodnya website, and streamed a fake address by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about an alleged "capitulation."

In June 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine announced that it had thwarted Russian special services' attempts to break into the electronic systems of the Ukrainian TV channels participating in the national telethon.

44. Hackers stream the USSR anthem on Inter

24.02.2023 Hackers played the USSR on the air of Inter. "Detector Media" reported this, posting a video recording of the broadcast.

This happened as Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council, was speaking on the "Unified Telethon". Also, as reported by social media users, the anthem was played on the media group's other channels: K2 and Zoom.

Inter's press office informed "Detector Media" that Inter Media Group's technical service had taken all the necessary measures to eliminate the threat of external interference in the operation of broadcast servers.

According to "Detector Media" sources, the attack allegedly occurred due to Inter's servers having online access and due to a virus on the computer of the news outlet's editor-in-chief.

Responding to a request for comment, the channel's press office reported that the necessary measures to eliminate the threats had been taken, and added: "At the moment, law enforcers are investigating into interference with the Inter and Zoom broadcasts, therefore, Inter Media Group cannot reveal any additional information about the situation or comment on this topic in more detail."

As IMI reported, on February 23, 2023, several web resources of Ukrainian state and local authorities suffered a cyberattack which led to the content of several pages on these resources being edited. According to the State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, the incident did not lead to any significant disruption of the system's performance and did not affect the performance of the state bodies.

45. Cybercriminals hack Ukraïner's Facebook page

24.02.2023 Ukraïner, an educational project about the Ukrainian society and culture, has been hacked: cyber criminals took over the project's Facebook pages. The project reported this on Instagram.

"Friends, our Facebook pages have been taken over by hackers. Both Ukraïner's main page and all our non-Ukrainian language pages are controlled by unknown persons," the post says.

The project's team notes that they are looking for any way to regain full control over the account, and warns that if there are any strange posts on the pages in the near future, or the names of the pages change, etc., it is not their doing.

"Please do not click any links that may be posted on our pages or sent to you in private messages. Do not send any money, because we are currently not doing any fundraising (the army auction where we invited you to support our volunteer Mykhailo, ended today)," the message reads.

Ukraïner noted that for the time being, they will be posting content on Instagram, Telegram, Twitter and Viber.

The project's founder, Bohdan Logvynenko, tweeted that hackers had gained access to the publication's pages by hacking the Meta Business Manager.

"Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday (February 24 – Ed.) Ukraïner's Meta Business Manager was hacked. All pages have been breached. There may be provocations. They are already changing names and deleting posts. Meta Support has provided no help since yesterday. The Digital Ministry is aware of the situation," he wrote.

At the same time, he added on Facebook, a preliminary check did not reveal any signs of the administrators' personal pages being hacked.

"We were hacked, but a preliminary check of our personal pages shows that there has been no attack on the admins themselves. From the insiders in "Meta": probably some gaps appeared in the Business Manager and there is simply no operational capacity to solve such problems. And even if the hacker attack happened due to an administrative error – it could take months (!) to fix a page hack. Seeing how quick the support is to respond and the how one has to have ties in Meta to 'talk things through', it is obvious that Facebook is the most risky place for communicating and accumulating social clout while there is an information war," Logvynenko wrote.

He added that Ukraïner will probably have to leave Facebook.

In his comment to the IMI, Logvynenko did not rule out that Russians might be behind the hacker attack on the project's Facebook pages. "At the moment, we do not rule out such a possibility. We are currently looking into this incident with experts at Meta. There was certain involvement of hackers from several countries. Russia is not on the list, but there are some of Russia's so-called friendly countries. This could be either a coincidence or a thoroughly planned operation. I'm not sure if we will ever know for sure, but we'll at least try," he said.

He said that he could not say which "friendly" countries were concerned and added: "It may not really matter because a VPN allows you to 'be' in any country."

Later, Logvynenko reported that Facebook had restored access to all of Ukraïner's 12 pages.

46. Russian hackers tried to hijack the broadcast of FM Halychyna

02.03.2023 Russian hackers attempted a cyber attack on the air of the FM Halychyna radio station. The Security Service of Ukraine had warned the editors about the cyberattack in advance. The media reported this on Facebook on March 2.

The day before, on March 1, calls for a hacker attack on the radio station were circulating on Russian Telegram channels.

Volodymyr Kushniruk, FM Halychyna technical director, said that their specialists had responded to the enemy's actions in time and managed to eliminate the threat.

"Obviously, they decided to hack our data transmissions or even speak on our behalf on the air. The technical department of the radio station took additional security measures to prevent such a situation," Kushniruk said.

The radio station believes that hackers will try to hijack the broadcast again in the future and assures that they will do everything in their power to prevent this from happening.

"Since its conception, the radio station has never played a single Russian song, and the announcers and presenters have never voiced pro-Russian narratives. [...] We will continue to cover the events of the Russian-Ukrainian war truthfully and call the Russians our enemies, even if we are a bone in their throat. We think that this cyber attack is only the beginning, the invaders will not stop in their attempts to do damage to FM Halychyna. We have stepped up our vigilance and will make sure to repel the enemy's cyber attacks in time. The radio station's website will resume its work shortly," said program director Yula Bielska.

Yula Bielska reported on "Espreso" TV channel that the only thing the hackers managed to do was to temporarily stop the radio station's website from working. But now the website is already up again.

Radio FM Halychyna is the largest regional radio network covering 14 frequencies within Ukraine: Lviv 89.7 FM, Ternopil 102.3 FM, Lutsk 89.8 FM, Rivne 89.5 FM, Boryslav 102.9 FM, Brody 107.5 FM, Novy Rozdil 107.6 FM, Radehiv 103.6 FM, Slavske 102.6 FM, Stary Sambir 102.7 FM, Stryi 107.9 FM, Turka 105.9 FM, Chervonograd 103.0 FM, Shatsk 106.7 FM.

47. RBC Ukraine files a statement with the cyberpolice over website forgery and a fake article criticizing Zaluzhny

15.03.2023 The editors of RBC Ukraine filed a statement with the cyberpolice over website forgery and a fake article criticizing the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. RBC Ukraine journalist Dmytro Braslavsky reproted this to the IMI.

The perpetrators signed the article criticizing Zaluzhny as Dmytro Braslavsky, which he reported on Facebook.

The journalist said that neither the editors nor he has any relation to the website or the article. Braslavsky believes that this is how the Russians are waging their info war.

"They created a fake RBC Ukraine page, threw together some miserable article about Zaluzhny and signed it with my name. This, of course, is intended for people who will not be attentive enough and will think that what the article says is completely true. But no, it's a goddamn fake, which neither I nor RBC Ukraine have anything to do with," the journalist wrote.

In a comment to IMI, Dmytro said that he had already contacted the cyberpolice regarding this incident. He explained that the domain of RBC Ukraine is rbc.ua, and that of the fake resource is rbk.media.

"This is a copy of the website. As the editorial team has explained, this is not the first  such occurrence. I personally forwarded the link to this propaganda to the editors, and then it was passed on to the cyberpolice. You can see the difference between the official RBC Ukraine website and this fake one by the domain. As I understand it, Russian propagandists (and maybe even Prigozhin's bot factory) do similar things all the time," the journalist noted.

As IMI reported, in September, unknown persons created a copy of the Ternopil online resource "Poglyad" and of its Facebook page. And in Snigurivka town (Mykolaiv oblast), which had been under Russian occupation since March to November, the invaders were distributing a clone of the locally known newspaper "Ridne Prybuzhzhia". The Russians used the layout, typeface, and name of the regional newspaper, having translated it into Russian – "Rodnoe Pribuzhye".

48. Fake UP website with a made-up column by Kazarin appears on the Internet

10.04.2023 A fake website imitating the online publication "Ukrainian Pravda" has appeared on the Internet.

According to the domain verification service whois, the fake website with the domain pravda-ua.com was created as recently as February 12, 2023, through an American company.

The website contains several pages and simulates the interface and the logo of the UP.

Journalist Pavlo Kazarin pointed out that the clone website had posted a fake version of his column.

"Fake content posted on behalf of the 'Ukrainian Pravda' appears online every now and then. Visually, it copies the UP, the only difference being that instead of content there is some kind of panicmongering nonsense. Now they started writing fake columns purportedly by the UP's regular authors. Me, for example. The latest case is an attack on the TDF, signed with my name," Kazarin wrote.

The journalist advises readers to pay attention to the domain: "The 'Ukrainian Pravda's' domain is easily googled. If the domain of the article/news is different, then you are dealing with a fake".

He also added that he reporsts all his writings on social media. "If you see a column by Karazin which is not to be found on Kazarin's social media, then you are dealing with a fake. Our neighbors have decided to do a psyop. Baby's first disinformation," Kazarin wrote.

49. Scammers pretending to be the "Obozrevatel" are promoting fake posts saying that "the allies are betraying us"

11.04.2023 Online media Obozrevatel reported a fake website that mimics the appearance of their website and spreads false news. The media asked the Security Service of Ukraine to take appropriate action.

Fake posts purportedly by the Obozrevatel are being promoted on Facebook via paid-for advertising feature.

Visually, the fake news pages are a perfect copy of the Obozrevatel website, copying the authors's data as well, but the website address is different.

The editors also point out that the difference lies in the "unintelligible presentation of information – typical for a Russian psyop, which comes specifically amidst the news about the UAF counteroffensive."

"Propagandists want to sow disappointment among Ukrainians, often the readers cannot distinguish original pages from their mirror versions. We note that in an attempt at panicmongering and smearing the leadership of Ukraine and our Defense Forces, the scammers use paid-for social media advertising wherein you click on a bright image and it takes you to a mirror website of a media outlet," the media writes.

As the editors note, if you click on the link on a different day from when it was "posted", you can immediately see that the site has not been updating: "All the news on it are dated with the same day and were posted around the time when the scammers were 'drawing up' their fake."

Also, false "reports" use blurred photos from the Internet which have nothing to do with the text of the fake articles. Such "articles" does not cite any sources, either.

Moreover, social media user Yuriy Konkevych noticed that the fakes are being spread on Facebook through paid advertising. He said that he has been encountering targeted advertising with the news about "our allies betraying us" while scrolling Facebook for several days. According to him, the scammers act in a classic manner: a funny caricature instead of a photo, a short text mentioning a Western publication and a link to the fake Obozrevatel page.

The editors have contacted the SBU, asking them to take appropriate action regarding the Russian psyop.

50. Russian propagandists distribute fake news report mimicking the Ukrinform

17.04.2023 Russian propagandists share a fake news report mimicking Ukrinform on social media networks and in the media. Ukrinform reported this on their website.

A screenshot of March 24 news item purportedly from the Ukrinform website has been shared in Russian Telegram channels, social networks such as Twitter, TikTok, Vkontakte, YouTube, as well as in mass media.

The fake news, designed to mimic the Ukrinform's layout, says that Ukraine has registered a draft bill banning taking photos and video at cemeteries, citing the Parliament's website as the source.

"This is followed by a peculiarly worded 'explanation' by some unnamed legislators that 'public coverage of the state of Ukrainian cemeteries can provide valuable intelligence information to the Russian army, as well as trigger a negative media buzz within the country itself," the media writes.

Ukrinform states that this news report is fake: "There has been no such news report on the Ukrinform website. This can be verified via the Web Machine online archive. Propagandists claim that the report was posted on March 24 at 19:24, but it is not so. On this day and time, a completely different piece of news was posted on the website," the editors note.

In addition, Ukrinform noted that since the start of the full-scale invasion, it has been writing the word "Russia" in lowercase.

"The propagandists did not take this into account and capitalized the name of their country, which also indicates this is a fake. Moreover, when reporting on draft bills, Ukrinform always indicates their number, which the Russians did not do when they made their fake," the report said.

The media also points out that such a draft bill is not to be found in the archive of draft bills registered by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Ukrinform notes that this is not the first time that Russian propagandists have forged screenshots to frame the news agency. Last time, they were spreading reports about three people dying at the "invincibility hub" in Kharkiv, with the authorities ordering the Ukrainian mass media to cover up the tragedy, but the fake news was debunked.

51. Channel 24 website under Russian attack

11.05.2023 The website of Channel 24 sustained a Russian hacker attack on May 11, according to the channel's website.

The Russians began rapidly posting fake news reports that contained threats and insults against the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and mailing out similar "push messages" to the readers.

As the channel notes, the attack took place the day before the release of a large-scale investigation about a high-ranking officer of the Russian GRU.

The channel managed to thwart the attack and promptly identified the vulnerabilities which had enabled the attack.

Commenting on the attack, the Channel 24 editor-in-chief said that Russians really don't like what the media outlet did.

"The Russians really don't like what we do. The FSB fakes using "screenshots" from Channel 24, as well as the attempted hacker attacks are proof of it. No attacks will stop us. The website is working again. As per tradition, the Russians did a negative offensive. We don't stop and go straight to victory," Anastasia Zazulyak stressed.

Channel 24 CEO, Roman Andreyko, noted that the channel had repelled the Russian attack and determined the attackers' target. "The enemy will no longer pass, and their bold warnings are empty bragging," Andreyko stressed.

As reported by IMI, the Channel 24 website suffered a DDoS attack on February 23, 2022. The servers temporarily stopped working due to the attack. The attack on the website began almost simultaneously with an attack on the government's websites.

52. Russian hackers attack "Vechirniy Kyiv"

25.05.2023 The website of the media outlet "Vechirniy Kyiv" was hacked on May 25, the publication reports.

The media outlet's editor-in-chief, Olena Petryshyn, clarified that the hackers had posted several copies of a news item by the hacker group Sontsepyok.

"The hackers did not get direct access to the server or the database. Now our specialists are working to avoid such situations in the future and make the web portal even more secure," said Olena Petryshyn.

The website was attacked around 3:00 p.m. According to the acting director of CE Kyivinform (that "Vechirniy Kyiv" is a part of), Yevhen Lopushynsky, the attack took place during the opening of the photo exhibition "Kyiv Yesterday and Today: a Journey Through Time" in Taras Shevchenko Park in Kyiv.

As the editors note, this is not the first attack on the website that has happened since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. In the first months that followed the escalation, the media outlet had to repel similar attacks every now and then, but on a smaller scale.

In the comment to the IMI representative, Yevhen Lopushynsky specified that the publication's website was attacked by Russian hackers.

"They wrote that they were the hacker group Sontsepyok, started posting the same news item every minute, which featured an image of Zelensky a clown costume and went approximately as follows: 'Attention, Zelensky! We, the hacker group Sontsepyok, have hacked all the state websites, discovered all the information and corruption,'" he said.

According to Yevhen Lopushynsky, the response team worked for three hours to restore the website, and it is currently working as usual. The team continues to improve the website's security to avoid similar hacker attacks in the future.

53. Another RBC-Ukraine clone appears online

21.06.2023 Another fake website of the Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine has appeared in the web. This was reported by the fact-checking project "On That Side of News".

Russian propagandists used the fake website to post a misleading article entitled "Zaluzhny spells everything out." In the article, which is purportedly written by the news feed editor, Dmytro Braslavsky, they cite a similarly fake Facebook post by the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. With this report, the Russians are trying to promote the belief that "it's all over," the counteroffensive has failed, Zelensky has betrayed everyone, there will be no more weapons, and other such false and pessimistic narratives, reports "On That Side".

The article is structured like an original column where "Braslavsky" reflects on the counteroffensive prospects and comes to the conclusion that Ukraine needs more Zaluzhnys, not a traitor president.

According to the domain verification service "whois", the resource with the domain name "rbk media" (actually the name is somewhat different, but Facebook has already identified the fraud and is taking it down) was registered in February 2023. The real "RBC-Ukraine" domain name is rbc.ua.

The fake post by Valery Zaluzhny, which is bein promoted by an empty “For You” page, is being actively recommended by Facebook algorithms as well. Thanks to this, the post with the link to a fake website ended up in the feeds of many Ukrainians.

The fact that the post in question is fake is evidenced by its layout. The text itself is shown in a Facebook window, but the profile name id from Twitter (and has the signature verification checkmark).

Dmytro Braslavsky, whom the "On That Side of News" contacted for comment, was surprised to learn that his name was being exploited by fraudsters again. The editors will deal with this problem.

As the IMI reported, in March, 2023, the editors of the RBC Ukraine filed a statement with the cyberpolice over website forgery and a fake article criticizing the UAF Commander-in-Chief, Valery Zaluzhny. The article criticizing Zaluzhny was signed with Dmytro Braslavsky's name.

In June 2022, the RBC-Ukraine reported that some criminals were posing as their editorial office to advertise a survey with which RBC-Ukraine had nothing to do on social media. Back then, the RBC-Ukraine contacted the National Police, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation regarding this issue.

54. ZN.UA reports a Russian hacker attack on their website

09.08.2023 ZN.UA editors report that their website was subjected to a Russian DDoS attack on the night of August 9.

This media outlet wrote this on the morning of August 9 on their Telegram channel.

The website was under attack for several hours, which prevented readers from accessing information.

As of 10 a.m., the website is already up and running.

As IMI reported, on March 16, 2023, the ZN.ua website was hacked.

55. Occupiers hack the RIA Melitopol Telegram channel to spread propaganda

21.08.2023 On the night of August 21, the Russians hacked the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian media outlet "RIA Melitopol", which continued to work even after Melitopol (Zaporizhia oblast) was occupied.

The media posted the relevant statement on its website. The editors noted that "the ruscists are posting their shameful news on the TG channel, changed the channel's name to Russian and added a different profile picture."

"Now we need support. We appeal to all mass media and Telegram channels, asking you to support us by spreading the word. Share the link to the new "RIA Melitopol" ("RIA South") TG channel: https://t.me/riamelitopolua," the editors wrote.

According to IMI's sources, the administrators of the "RIA Melitopol" ("RIA South") channel currently do not have access to the account. At the time of the attack, the sources add, the Telegram channel had 79,000 subscribers.

As of now, the editors have created a new Telegram channel and hope that all subscribers will switch to it and not succumb to the occupiers' propaganda. As of 2 a.m., the new Telegram channel already had over 14,000 subscribers.

According to Melitopol Mayor Ivan Fedorov, the occupiers also hacked several other pro-Ukrainian Telegram channels which have been "tirelessly reporting the terrible truth about the life in the TOT while facing constant threats from the occupiers" since the first day of the war.

"Ruscists want to make reliable information unaccessible and force the people in the occupied territories to only consume their propaganda. [...] All the content you see on the channels now come from the enemy. The owners of the channels do not have access to the administration features. Please take care of your personal safety! Exit the hacked chats and unfollow the hacked newsgroups," Fedorov wrote on Telegram and suggested that people read the news of the occupied southern Ukraine on the "RIA Melitopol" ("RIA South") website and on their new Telegram channel.

Legal pressure – 3

1. ATR journalist Gulsum Halilova detained in Istanbul at Russia's request

28.10.2022 Turkish law enforcers detained Crimean Tatar journalist Gulsum Halilova, who works for ATR, in an airport in Istanbul (Turkiye), fulfilling Russia's request made within Interpol's framework. She has already been released and allowed to enter Turkiye.

People's Deputy of Ukraine Refat Chubarov reported this on his Facebook page.

According to him, the journalist was detained on October 27 at night upon her arrival from Croatia.

"As various sources made clear, the detention was carried out following Russia's request made within the framework of Interpol. As of now, Gulsum Halilova has been released, she was allowed to enter the territory of Turkiye. It is certain that this incident will gain a special traction. Still, I urge those who are discussing this topic to be professional: Interpol requires its member states to follow the procedures. Detention is not the same as arrest and has even less in common with extradition. But in any case, it is humiliating for those who are detained illegally. In this case, based on Russia's false claims," wrote Chubarov.

He added that in the past seven years, he has found himself in circumstances similar to that of Gulsum Halilova twice: he has been detained based on Russia's falsified requests.

Chubarov called to demand that Interpol's member states "immediately deprive Russia of membership in this organization."

In her comment to "Ukrainska Pravda", Halilova said that she had been detained for 17 hours at Russia's request and allegedly due to an entry ban. Now the issue of the ban on her entry to Turkiye is being resolved.

As IMI reported, on July 12, 2019, the Russian-controlled Kyiv District Court of Crimea in absentia chose custody as a measure of detention ATR TV channel journalist Gulsum Halilova, which would start the moment she is detained on Russian territory or in the event of Halilova's extradition to the Russian Federation. On August 1, the "Supreme Court" of Crimea upheld the decision of the first instance court.

The Russian FSB's Crimean Department opened a criminal case against the Crimean Tatar TV channel ATR's journalist Gulsum Halilova under Article 208 of the Criminal Code of Russia ("Participation in an armed formation on the territory of a foreign state").

The Prosecutor's Office of the ARC has opened proceedings following the criminal case against Gulsum Halilova, TV host working for Crimean Tatar channel ATR, and her arrest in absentia.

2. 1+1 anchor Natalya Moseychuk wanted by Russia

26.07.2023 The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs has declared 1+1 news anchor Natalya Moseychuk wanted. This was reported by the Russian propaganda media outlet RIA Novosti.

The propagandists remarked that last year the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation had opened a case against Moseychuk "for calling for violence against Russian pilots and their relatives."

As reported by IMI, in 2022, the head of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, Alexandr Bastrykin, instructed his department to open a case against the news anchor of the Ukrainian TV channel 1+1, Natalya Moseychuk. She was accused of "making death threats to Russian pilots and their relatives while on air." As reported in the Investigative Committee, Natalya Moseychuk "expressed a misanthropic attitude and uttered real threats."

Before that, speaking on the "United News" marathon, the TV host reacted to reports about another bomb strike on Ukraine. She reminded the Russian military and their families about their responsibility. In particular, Moseychuk said that the wives of the Russian occupiers should "be afraid and understand that sooner or later" they will become widows. And she advised the brides of Russian pilots to "find black headscarves."

3. Ukrainian journalist Yanina Sokolova wanted in Russia

07.08.2023 The Russian MIA has declared Ukrainian journalist Yanina Sokolova wanted, reports the Russian propaganda media TASS, citing the Russian MIA database.

"Yanina Mykhailivna Sokolova is wanted under an article of the Criminal Code," the wanted persons database says.

In March, the Rosfinmonitoring added Sokolova to the list of "terrorists and extremists".

We remind you that Yanina Sokolova is a Ukrainian journalist, TV presenter, author of the show "Rendez-Vous" on Channel 5 and the host of her own YouTube project "Evening with Yanina Sokolova".

Blocking online access to media – 9

1. russia blocks access to Ukrainian Hlavred on its territory

25.02.2022 Roskomnadzor has restricted access to the website of the Ukrainian online publication Hlavred on the Internet in russia.

This was reported by Hlavred.

The editorial office received a message from Roskomnadzor restricting access to information resources from russia, as "information posted on the site violates the law of the russian federation."

"In accordance with Article 15.3 of the Federal Law of 27.07.2006 № 149-FZ 'On information, information technology and information protection' we inform that, in accordance with the requirements of the Prosecutor General of the russian federation from 24.02.2022 № 27-31-2020 / Id2145- 22, the information posted on the information resource https://glavred.info contains false reports of acts of terrorism or other unreliable socially significant information disseminated in the form of reliable messages that threaten to harm the lives and (or) health of citizens, property, threat of mass disturbance of public order and (or) public safety or threat of obstruction of operation or termination of operation of life support facilities, transport or social infrastructure, credit organizations, energy facilities, industry or communications," the invaders said.

It is further said that access to the site will be prohibited on the basis of the requirement of the Prosecutor General's Office of the russian federation from 24.02.2022.

"Immediately upon receipt of this notice, the hosting provider or other person providing accommodation of content in the information and telecommunications network, in particular on the Internet, must inform their client who is the owner of the information resource and notify him of the necessity to immediately remove the information that is distributed in violation of the law," the statement added.

2. Krym.Realii (RFE/RL) website in russian blocked in Crimea

28.02.2022 Krym.Realii (RFE/RL) project website is not available in russian and is blocked by most providers in the russian-occupied Crimea.

This was reported to the publication by Crimea-based readers.

According to the public initiative Roskomsvoboda, the website Krym.Realii was blocked by Roskomnadzor at the request of the russian prosecutor's office.

As IMI reported, the day before Roskomnadzor threatened to limit access to the site Krym.Realii, accusing the project of Radio Liberty of "facts of distribution of inaccurate information" about the new russian invasion of Ukraine.

3. russia blocks access to official websites of Ukrainian state departments and media outlets

02.03.2022 russia has blocked access to the official websites of Ukrainian state departments and media, Channel 24 reports.

Namely, on March 2, Roskomnadzor blocked the official websites of the Ministry of Health and the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine in russia. This is clear from the ban register kept by the human rights organization Roskomsvoboda.

Access to the following Ukrainian media is also blocked: 1+1 TSN news agency; "Segodnya;" Ukrinform; Channel 24; ZAXID.NET; "Dzerkalo Tyzhnya;" Censor.NET; Vesti.ua; Depo.ua; Delo.ua; LB.ua.

4. russia blocks access to UNN

02.03.2022 russia has blocked access to the Ukrainian National News (UNN) agency and other Ukrainian media on its territory, UNN reports.

The respective decision was made by the Prosecutor General's Office of the russian Federation. The blocklist includes several other Ukrainian media outlets that cover the full-scale invasion of the russian Federation into Ukraine.

Рlavkom, Segodnya, Kontrakty, Delo and other publications were also blocked among other media outlets.

UNN notes that their website has been blocked several times since 2014.

5. russia blocks access to several Ukrainian media websites

17.04.2022 The website of "Institure of Mass Information" CO has been banned in russia by the Procecutor General's office.

This is stated in the banned websites register.

According to the register, the decision has been approved on April 12 and the first block occurred on April 17.

According to the "Roskomsvoboda" project, rf has also banned access to the websites of the "Human Rights Watch" organization and some Ukrainian media: dev.ua, “Apostrof”, “Censor”, “Hromadske radio”, “Hazeta.ua”, “Segodnia”, MigNews, etc. 

The rf's Procecutor General's office banned 24 websites in total, including IMI, adding the link to the article "on civillian evacuation issues and the actions of the russian army during the 'special military operation'" to the register.

Since the ban is carried out through HTTPS, many russian operators lose access to the website altogether, "Roskomsvoboda" states.

"These and other news websites were added to the register by the 'mask,' so the access restriction affects all their domains and subdomains," the project noted.

As IMI has reported, in January 2021 the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology, and Mass Media (Roskomnadzor), in accordance with the Prosecutor Genreal's demand, blocked access to the Institute of Mass Information's website on the russian federation's territory because of a news report that allegedly contained "calls for mass disruptions and extremist actions." The report in question dates back to August 18, 2016: "Russia blocks Hromadske TV interview with a 'Hizb-ut-Tahrir' representative."

6. Svoi.city website blocked in russia

09.05.2022 Roskomnadzor has blocked the Ukrainian online magazine Svoi.city in the russian federation. This was announced by the website's coordinator Gayane Avakyan.

"We have been blocked in russia! It has finally happened! So we are doing everything right!" Gayane wrote.

On the other hand, Gayane noted, their publication was read by many people in russia and it was where they received truthful information about the war in eastern Ukraine. Since the beginning of the war, the number of users from russia has tripled.

The russian prosecutor general's office approved the decision to block the website on February 24, 2022 – the day of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine, – but the first block occurred on March 17.

"They used a block mask – all the pages of the website together with the domain and subdomains are blocked," Gayane Avakyan said in her comment to IMI representative.

Online magazine "Svoi.Sity" tells about the lives of people in eastern Ukraine on both sides of the front line, about the lives of migrants, about Ukrainian refugees abroad. The authors of the magazine write manuals for solving legal problems faced by migrants and residents of the occupied territories.

7. Editors of 0532.ua website receive a notification about being blocked in russia

01.07.2022 The editors of the Poltava city website 0532.ua received a notification from Roskomnadzor about access to the resource being restricted. russia accuses the Poltava media outlet of covering the war in a way that is, in russia's opinion, unreliable.

The media outlet's owner Yuriy Boyko posted the email on his Facebook page.

In the email, the reason for the block is stated as follows: "False reports about acts of terrorism or other unreliable information of public significance, which is distributed under the guise of reliable information, which creates a threat of harm to the life and health of citizens, carries the threat of mass violations of public order..."

The editors received the email in two languages, russian and English, a month ago, but they only saw it now.

In the comment to the regional IMI representative, Yuriy Boyko stated that they will continue to work for Ukraine's victory and that "the journalists weren't spending their nights in the office in the first months of the war for nothing."

"I believe that this is a worthy reward for the entire team of the 0532.ua website. This means that it was not for nothing that the journalists weren't spending their nights in the office in the first months of the war for nothing. We received an email from russia, from Roskomnadzor! I want to frame this email and hang it in the editorial office! The Prosecutor General of the russian federation believes that the website Poltava 0532.ua spreads unreliable information about the war and destabilizes the situation in the russian federation. We promise to keep destabilizing it until Ukraine's Victory! Glory to Ukraine!" he wrote.

According to Yuri Boyko, the editors did not respond to the email, but they plan to send a request for Roskomnadzor to follow the course of the russian warship.

8. "Poltavska Khvylia" receives block notice from russia

27.07.2022 On July 27, "Poltavska Khvylia" media outlet received an email from Roskomnadzor about the access to the resource being restricted on the territory of russia. Vitaliy Ulybin, editor-in-chief of "Poltavska Khvylia," announced this on his Facebook page.

The email states that access is being restricted due to a publication with a tutorial for making a "Molotov cocktail."

"If the hosting provider and the website owner do not delete the prohibited information and restrict the Internet access to the website, a decision will be made to add the address of the network which allows the website to be identified on the Internet to the unified register, and access to it will be restricted," says the email.

In a comment to the Poltava representative of IMI, Vitaly Ulybin said that the editors responded with a picture in which the demands of the russian federation were being sent to follow the course of the russian warship.

As IMI reported, the editorial office of the Poltava 0532.ua website received a notification from Roskomnadzor about the access to the resource being restricted. russia accused the Poltava media outlet of covering the war in a way that was, in russia's opinion, unreliable.

9. Roskomnadzor blocks russian users from accessing Kherson media outlet MOST

08.08.2022 The Russian Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media has blocked the access to Kherson media outlet MOST for russian users.

The reason behind the block was the russian Prosecutor General's Office's demand 27-31-2022/Treb823-22 of July 15, 2022, which cited Article 15.3 of the Law "On Information, Information Technologies, and Information Protection." The demand itself is not publicly available, but the record on the website shows that the decision on the block was made on July 15, and the website was blocked on July 18, 2022.

"We felt the block physically when we saw that the number of readers with 'russian' IPs decreased. It became clear that the russians had restricted the access, mainly for the residents of the temporarily occupied Kherson region. As you know, all Kherson providers have been using the russian communication channel for several months, so the russians can block websites themselves," MOST editor Serhii Nikitenko said.

Shutting down Ukrainian broadcasting and streaming Russian propaganda instead – 27

1. Kherson cut off from Ukrainian television

03.03.2022 The occupiers that had seized the television studio and the TV center cut off the television signal. This was reported by Моst.

T2 is not working all over the city. Obviously, there is no signal in the entire Kherson region, which receives is from Kherson. Cable operators continue to broadcast Ukrainian TV channels.

2. russian occupiers in Kherson broadcast propaganda via T2

04.03.2022 In Kherson, on the morning of March 4, the occupants began broadcasting 24 russian TV channels and three radio channels via T2. This was reported by Suspilne Kherson.

"The UA: Kherson TV channel broadcasts the national telethon. Other regional channels do not work. The situation is similar in the districts of the region," the statement reads.

3. The occupiers begin to broadcast russian channels in Melitopol

04.03.2022 The russian troops that had taken control of the Melitopol TV tower began broadcasting russian TV channels. The Zaporizhzhia regional military administration reported this.

They cite the Melitopol City Council and sources in the Security Service of Ukraine.

"The SSU sources report that the occupants installed their equipment on the Melitopol TV tower and began broadcasting russian TV channels," adds Oleksandr Starukh, head of the RSA.

Local residents confirmed the information about the broadcast of russian channels in the city to IMI.

The State Special Communications Service clarified that the broadcast of russian channels is not carried out from the Melitopol TV tower, but with the help of another transmitter.

"No digital TV transmitter on the TV tower in Melitopol is currently operating. Broadcasting in Melitopol is carried out using an analog transmitter located outside the TV tower, to which the Concern of Radio Broadcasting, Radio and Television has no relation," the statement said.

4. russians cut off Krym.Realii radio transmitters and take them to Crimea

04.03.2022 russian occupiers cut off the transmitters of Radio Krym.Realii (RFE/RL) broadcasting from the tower in the village of Chonhar, Kherson region.

This was reported to the IMI by the editor-in-chief of the NGO "Radio of Crimean Communities" Alexander Yankovsky.

According to the editor-in-chief, the transmitters were de-energized on February 24, immediately after the russian army invaded Ukraine.

And on March 4, Yankovsky added, some unknown individuals took out a transmitter for broadcasting at a frequency of 648 AM in the direction of the occupied Crimea.

"Radio of Crimean Communities" NGO is a licensee of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting and broadcasts under the call signs Radio Krym.Realii on the frequencies 105.9 FM, as well as 648 AM.

5. Invaders cut off the broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channels in Starobilsky district, Luhansk region

14.03.2022 In Starobilsky district of Luhansk region, the russian invaders cut off broadcasting of Ukrainian TV channels.

The IMI representative learnt it from her own sources. 

There is also no mobile connection in the city. People in small villages do not have access to information about the developments in the community. 

At the same time, they do can not call the ambulance. In addition, there is information that the occupiers are counting pro-Ukrainian activists and searching their homes.

6. russian television started broadcasting in parts of Kherson region

22.03.2022 In the Kakhovka and Beryslav districts of the Kherson region, the russian occupiers cut off Ukrainian broadcasting and launched russian television. 

This was announced by the regional representative of IMI in the Kherson region.

Ukrainian television was turned off in these areas on March 22, as employees of the Lyubimiv Village Council said.

According to an IMI source, russian troops entered the territory of the data center, which is located in the village of Vasylivka near Kakhovka on March 22. 

"Last night they turned off Ukrainian television, and this morning they launched russian broadcasting," said the IMI source.

7. Ukrainian FM radios stopped working in Kherson

26.03.2022 Ukrainian FM radio channels have stopped working in Kherson. This was reported by Suspilne Kherson. Residents of the city report that currently only russian radio channels are broadcast in this range.

8. Occupiers launch their propagandist radio in Enerhodar

10.04.2022 In the temporarily occupied city of Enerhodar,  Zaporizhzhia region, the russian occupiers started broadcasting "Radio russia."

This was reported on April 10 on the Telegram channel of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.

"In Enerhodar, the enemy managed to create a "Radio russia," through which they spread false and distorted information, hostile propaganda, and broadcast songs that glorify putin and the greatness of russia," the statement says.

It is also reported that the occupants are spreading propagandist photos where they distribute alleged humanitarian aid from russia to retirees in the city. "Judging by the photos, the products were delivered only to four people," the RSA reports.

As IMI reported, in March, after the russian occupation, the local Enerhodar television (ENTS) (Energodar Television Systems) announced the forced cessation of broadcasting.

9. Occupiers broadcast their TV channels and radio in Dniprorudne, Zaporizhzhia region

25.04.2022 In the temporarily occupied Dniprorudne, Zaporizhzhia region, the russian occupiers have began jamming Ukrainian television channels and launched the broadcasts of eight russian TV channels and three radio stations.

This was reported on Enerhodar city's official Telegram channel.

In particular, Mayak radio is broadcast – one of the most powerful Kremlin propaganda mouthpieces.

The Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration confirmed to journalists that the occupiers were trying to broadcast russian television and radio in all temporarily occupied territories. According to the ZRMA, in Dniprorudny, the russian occupants installed a digital transmitter for TV and radio signals, which broadcasts ruscist TV channels and Mayak radio.

10. In Mariupol, the occupiers are spreading propaganda under the name and logo of "Priazovsky Rabochy" newspaper

11.05.2022 In Mariupol, the occupiers use the name and logo of the newspaper "Priazovsky Rabochy" to spread propaganda. The editor-in-chief of the publication Olena Kalaitan wrote about this on her Facebook, Detector Media reports.

"Today I learned that in Mariupol they are giving out an alleged fresh issue of 'Priazovsky Rabochy' together with the 'humanitarian aid' – with our logo on it, but, of course, not our Ukrainian content.

"Well, our editorial office has predicted in advance that the occupiers would use the trust of our readers over the years and the credibility of the 'Priazovsky Rabochy' newspaper, which we have been – and are – diligently developing and preserving.

Dear readers, I ask you not to read all that the collaborationist government is now publishing as our position: the Ukrainian editors of 'Priazovsky Rabochy' have nothing to do with any line of this newly published newspaper," the statement reads.

The last issue of this newspaper was published on February 23. After the start of the full-scale russian aggression, Olena Kalaitan sent a letter to the chairman of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine stating that the publication was suspending its publication and that any further use of the brand would be illegal.

As IMI reported, "Priazovsky Rabochy" newspaper is one of the media outlets in Donetsk region which ceased their work due to the occupation.

11. The occupiers connect Berdyansk to three russian radio stations

27.05.2022 Crimean engineers have connected the russian-occupied Berdyansk (Zaporizhzhia region) to three russian radio stations.

This was reported by the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration (ZRMA).

According to the ZRMA, in addition to this, radio "Krym" is broadcasting the news from the occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which the propagandists call "liberated," every hour.

"And finally, about the rubbish promises of the russian occupiers. On their propaganda resources, the invaders promise to develop a system of subsidies for farmers, create a new system of taxes, supply of products and raw materials, and also announce that Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions will switch to russian license plates," said the military administration.

It is also reported that in Berdyansk, the occupiers are persuading the locals to switch to the russian operators' mobile networks. At the same time, the Ukrainian mobile connection is being jammed by the russian military.

12. In occupied Izyum, the invaders issue a propaganda leaflet, but they are not sure about the title

31.05.2022 A propaganda leaflet has been issued in occupied Izyum (Kharkiv region). In it, the occupiers urge locals to go to work and promise them a "bright future."

Anna Chernenko, a journalist from Kharkiv, told this to the IMI representative, citing local residents.

"But for now they're offering to work for rations. At the same time, they encourage the locals to go out and build a new life with great pathos. And that same 'newspaper' reported that the so-called mayor of Izyum had already been elected, although even the local collaborating authorities had not heard of any such so-called elections," the journalist noted.

According to Anna Chernenko, the locals write on social media that the leaflet was issued by a security guard from one of the local banks.

"There is even some strange business with the title of this 'newspaper:' one page says that it is 'Izyumsky Telegraph,' and another says that it is 'Izyumsky Vestnik.' That is, they haven't made up their minds yet not only on the mayor, but also on the title of the newspaper," the journalist said. 

According to the leaflet, the self-proclaimed mayor is Vladyslav Solokov. According to the Kharkiv Anti-Corruption Center, Sokolov is a former law enforcement officer. He was a candidate for the post of Izyum mayor in 2020 from the Nash Krai party. During his run, he stated that he was the head of the sector for individuals' assets banking security in PJSC KV Oschadbank.

13. In Kherson, the occupiers seize the "Armiya FM – Military Radio" and are broadcasting their own radio

16.06.2022 In Kherson, the occupying forces have seized the "Armiya FM – Military Radio" (Central Television and Radio Studio of the Ministry of Defense) frequency of 99.0 MHz and are broadcasting under the call sign "Radio russia."

This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

14. Occupiers are broadcasting their propaganda in the Vovchansk and Chuhuiv districts of Kharkiv region

16.06.2022 In Vovchansk and Chuhuiv districts of Kharkiv region, on the 90.0 – 91.0 MHz frequencies, russia is broadcasting under the call sign "Kharkov Z."

This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

15. Occupiers seize a radio frequency and broadcast under call sign "Radio Zhyzn"

16.06.2022 In Kupyansk district of Kharkiv region, the aggressor state is broadcasting on the 91.0 – 92.0 MHz frequencies under the call sign "Radio Zhyzn."

This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

16. Occupiers are broadcasting russian TV channels in five towns and villages in Luhansk region

16.06.2022 in five towns and villages in Luhansk region (Starobilsk, Svatove, Zorynivka, Shyroky, Bilovodsk), russian channels are being broadcast through Zeonbud channels.

This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

Namely, Pervy Kanal/Match, NTV, Pyaty Kanal, rossiya-K, Karusel, OTP, TVC, rossiya-1, rossiya 24, Vesti FM, Radio Mayak, Radio russia; Spas, STS, Domashny, TV-3, Pyatnitsa, Zvezda, Mir, TNT, Muz-TV; MX-3: Moya Planeta, Nauka, Techno 24, Moskva 24, Muzyka Pervogo, and Lugansk 24 are being broadcast.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

17. Occupiers are broadcasting their TV channels in five cities in Zaporizhzhia region

16.06.2022 In five cities in Zaporizhzhia region (Melitopol, Berdyansk, Bilmak, Dniprorudne, Tokmak), the multichannel TV frequency has been seized. This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

According to the NCTRB, the occupiers use the channels of the digital television operator Zeonbud to broadcast the following russian channels: Pervy Kanal, rossiya 1, rossiya 24, rocciya K, NTV, Pyaty Kanal, Match, Karusel, and three radio programs.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

18. Occupiers are broadcasting "rossiya-24" TV channel in Melitopol

16.06.2022 In Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, "rossiya-24" channel is being broadcast on the frequency of the MTV Plus channel (MTV-PLUS TV and Radio Company LLC). This is stated in the response of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting to IMI's request.

According to the NCTRB, MTV Plus is engaged in collaboration with the aggressor state.

In total, russian occupiers have seized eight radio frequencies and TV channels in four regions of Ukraine. Namely, the occupying power currently controls radio frequencies and TV channels in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions.

19. russians in Volnovakha issue propaganda "newspaper" under a Ukrainian brand

28.07.2022 Two issues of the propaganda "newspaper" "Nashe Slovo" were printed in Volnovakha (Donetsk region), which is temporarily occupied by the russian invaders. This was stated by the media outlet's editor-in-chief Lidia Tarash, Chytomo reports.

"Nashe Slovo" has been in print since 1932, but after the occupation, the russians stole the newspaper's brand and use it to spread propaganda.

"In this publication, the occupation authorities appropriated not only the name 'Nashe Slovo,' but also the font of the name, the layout style of the first page, and even the color blue that we used for the name on the newspaper's website and Facebook page. We note that not a single member of our enterprise's team has anything to do with the prinitng of this newspaper," Lidia Tarash emphasized.

According to the editor, the real "Nashe Slovo" stopped printing with the beginning of full-scale russian aggression against Ukraine. As of now, all editorial staff have left the occupied territory, except for one colleague who was killed.

Lidia Tarash reported that the representatives of the so-called "DPR" occupation administration have been trying to "resume" the printing of the newspaper for a long time. Namely, they offered her to cooperate.

The occupiers gave the premises of the editorial office to the so-called "Volnovakha District Pension Fund." The printing of the fake "Nashe Slovo" is being done by the so-called State Unitary Enterprise of the Donetsk People's Republic "Republican Media Holding" headed by Roman Karpenko. In addition to "Our Word," the "Holding" is printing two more local "newspapers" in the occupied territory of Donetsk region – "Selskaya Nov" (Mangush District) and "Zarya Pryazovya" (Nikolske District).

We remind you that earlier, the russians have stolen brands of Mariupol, Melitopol, and Kherson newspapers  to spread propaganda.

20. New propaganda channel opens in occupied Melitopol

01.08.2022 On August 1, new propaganda TV channel "ZaTV" started working in the occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia oblast.

This was reported by a number of russian media outlets with reference to Vladimir Rogov, a self-proclaimed member of the pseudo-administration of Zaporizhia oblast.

The regional IMI representative also notes that reports about the opening of a "regional russian TV channel in the oblast" were spreading on August 1 through the main Telegram channels of local collaborators.

"ZaTV" channel was opened by the self-proclaimed head of Zaporizhzhia oblast pseudo-administration Yevhen Balytsky. On his Telegram channel, he reported that "the television channel... is a great help in matters of truth, in matters of explaining the situation, solving the problems of all residents of Zaporizhzhia oblast."

At the same time, according to Perevireno.Zaporizhzhia project, the "official Telegram channel" of the self-proclaimed head of the region is at the forefront of spreading fakes and manipulations in Zaporizhzhia oblast.

It is currently unknown who became the head of the collaborationist TV channel, which positions itself as a regional one. As IMI was able to find out, the new TV channel's studio was opened separately from the "Melitopol" (TVM) and MTV Plus TV channels. The studio was opened under the seized TV tower located in Melitopol. Although, according to Opendatabot, collaborator Yevhen Balytsky is the owner of MTV Plus Television and Radio Company LLC. It is his "LEGION" LLC that owns 100% of the TV company.

Currently, information about the TV channel "MTV Plus" on the Ukrainian- and russian-language Wikipedia pages has been edited. Namely, the description of the TV channel reads, "Melitopol TV Company is one of the largest TV companies in Zaporizhzhia oblast. It rebroadcasts the programs of the informational TV channel Rossiya 24 and also has daily four hours of its own air time, filled by informational and analytical programs on regional topics. The office is located in Melitopol at Khmelnytsky Ave. 70B, first floor." However, it is noted on the Wikipedia pages that the information about the rebroadcast (previously the TV channel would broadcast programs of the satellite channel Sonce) was edited on July 12, 2022 and is unverified.

As IMI reported, in March, the occupiers kidnapped several journalists of the MV-holding; later, the media holding closed down. Also, almost all pro-Ukrainian media stopped working in Melitopol.

21. Another propaganda newspaper is being distributed in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia oblast

29.08.2022 Propaganda newspaper "Novoye Vremya" is set to start issuing on August 29 in the Polohy District of Zaporizhzhia oblast, which is temporarily occupied by the russian army. News about this appeared on propaganda Telegram channel "Zaporozhsky Vestnik" on August 26.

The first editions of the newspaper, which is being launched for printing "thanks to the assistance from the Head of Penza region," will be distributed for free. The occupiers promise an "objective assessment of the events" taking place in the part of the region they have occupied.

The first page includes a photo of people voting in support of the pseudo-referendum which the occupiers plan to hold in the occupied territories in September. There is no caption or credit under the picture. It is also unclear where and when this photo was taken. And the article "Brotherly Helping Hand" is signed with the name Victoria Solomayko. Currently, the search of this name has yielded no results. It is also unknown who is the newspaper's editor, what is its print run, and where it is being printed.

22. The occupiers launch their propagada TV channel in Mariupol

06.09.2022 The occupation administration of Mariupol launched a new local TV channel Mariupol 24, reports 0629.com.ua.

As the media writes, the work on its launch began back in May. Journalist collaborator Andriy Kior was to become the channel's manager. He was the author of the TV channel's name, which was supposed to be Novy Mariupol. However, the Mariupol people were dismissed from the management as "experts" from Donetsk and St. Petersburg took the creation the channel upon themselves.

On August 4, "St. Petersburg" TV channel's Director General Alexander Malkevich and the head of the "DPR's" "First Republican TV channel" Sergei Pelyanitsyn signed a cooperation agreement. A team of russian journalists arrived in Mariupol and began working on creating the studio, a network, and providing the technical capabilities for broadcasting. The first news releases are already out.

As the media outlet notes, thanks to this, they have learned the names of more collaborator journalists. For instance, they write, is well-known Mariupol sports columnist Oleksandr Kapustyan and journalist Oleksandr Buzuluk have sided with the occupiers.

There is also Ksenia Misyurevych, a student of the Moscow State University's Faculty of Journalism who started working at the TV channel while still studying.

As reported by IMI, Mariupol's collaborator journalists were working on the creation of the occupiers' TV channel Novy Mariupol.

The Mariupol occupation administration's "press center" was headed by local journalist Andriy Kior.

In May, the occupiers started spreading propaganda in Mariupol under the name and logo of the newspaper Priazovsky Rabochy.

23. Occupiers launch propaganda radio in the seized part of Zaporizhzhia oblast

12.09.2022 The occupiers have launched Za!Radio on the FM frequency in the seized part of Zaporizhzhia oblast. This was announced on the propaganda Telegram channel "ZaTV.Novosti Zaporozhskoy oblasti."

The propagandists have made a whole commercial about this. In particular, the video says that the radio currently works in testing mode, and that the technological aspect and the content concept are ready. The radio will broadcast Russian music and hourly news, and the half-hour program "Evening with Vladimir Andronaki" on weekends. This is most likely about Andronaki Vladimir Petrovich, "journalist," "TV journalist," "author and host of Evening Interception program on Radio Krym."

The promotional video also shows a very poorly equipped radio office and the employees' comments. It features Evgeniy Kochubey, the radio's chief sound engineer, who says that "the quality of our equipment meets the global standards." Denis Dorofeyev, a "Za!Radio station employee," a journalist who used to be, among other things, a sports commentator on the Melitopol TV channel, the songwriter for the metal band MegamasS, and a former host of Radio Submarina, also gives a comment. He had started working with the collaborators in the spring. In his comment, he says that the radio's content "will consist of informative broadcasts full of meaning." Za!Radio, whose slogan is "For Motherland! For our home! For the radio!" is being shamelessly called "the best radio in Zaporizhzhia oblast" by the propagandists.

As IMI reported, on August 1, a new propaganda TV channel ZaTV started working in the occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia oblast.

24. In Mykolaiv oblast, the occupiers issued a clone of a local newspaper to promote their propaganda

19.12.2022 In Snigurivka town (Mykolaiv oblast), which had been under Russian occupation since March to November, the invaders were distributing a clone of the locally known newspaper "Ridne Prybuzhzhia". This was reported by the IMI representative in Mykolaiv oblast.

The Russians used the layout, typeface, and name of the regional newspaper, having translated it into Russian – "Rodnoe Pribuzhye".

The pro-Russian "Rodnoe Pribuzhye" (with the only issue dated September 23) was intented to promote a pseudo-referendum on the accession of Kherson oblast and Snigurivka, Mykolayiv oblast, to Russia. The newspaper's source data indicate that it was printed in Kherson oblast with a print run of 10,000 copies. There is no other information neither on the publication nor the person responsible for the issue.

The newspaper "Ridne Prybuzhzhia" was founded in 1991 as Mykolaiv oblast's official printed publication. In 2019, the newspaper has been denationalized, and is currently a private enterprise headed by editor-in-chief Tetyana Fabrykova. Before the start of the full-scale war, the newspaper used to print three issues a week with a print run of about 10,000 copies and was distributed throughout Mykolaiv oblast.

As editor-in-chief Tetyana Fabrykova told IMI, the newspaper's last issue was published on February 24, 2022; after that, it had to suspend its operation due to the hostilities. As of December, the publication has not resumed its work because of financial difficulties, the energy situation in Ukraine, and the journalists being physically absent from Mykolaiv, which remains a front-line city in the full-scale invasion.

Tetyana Fabrykova is outraged by the fact that the Russians created a clone of "Ridne Prybuzhzhia" in order to exploit the newspaper's reputation to promote pro-Russian propaganda among the residents of Mykolaiv oblast.

She said that "Ridne Prybuzhzhya" had been printed in Kherson for the last few years. Tetyana Fabrykova believes that the occupiers were able to gain access to the newspaper's files stored in the printing house and used them to create the clone.

"I was not aware of this situation, I am outraged by the fact that they used our logo, that they would issue such a thing. When the hostilities started in Mykolaiv oblast, we stopped printing the newspaper, because, first, we were doing it in Kherson, the printing press was there... Mykolaiv newspapers are now gradually resuming their work, in particular 'Yuzhnaya Pravda' and 'Vechirniy Mykolaiv', but we are not prepared to release another issue yet, because our journalists are not in Mykolaiv yet. I think that as soon as our power grid is stabilized, we will of course resume our work. We will fulfill all our obligations to our subscribers. Because we are almost a year behind. We only fulfilled our obligations to subscribers for January – February. This issue that you discovered is a scam, they know that such a newspaper existed, so they made use of it," said Tetyana Fabrykova.

25. Occupiers disable Ukrainian broadcasting in three Kherson settlements

17.01.2023 The Russian invaders have disabled the broadcasting of all Ukrainian TV channels in three temporarily occupied settlements of Kherson oblast. This was reported by the UAF General Staff in their January 17 morning rundown.

According to the General Staff, Ukrainian broadcasting has been disabled in Zavodivka, Hornostayivka, and Kayiry. Currently, only Russian television is available there.

Furthermore, the military reports, the occupiers keep terrorizing the civilian population in Kherson oblast. In particular, Sablukivka, Kachkarivka, Olhivka, Tyahynka, Inhulets, and Kherson were affected by mortar and artillery fire.

As IMI reported, the Ukrainian media space is being restored in Kherson, which has been liberated from the Russian occupiers. People are listening to Suspilne and NV Radio, watching the "United News" telethon.

In January 2022, in Kakhovka district in the occupied part of Kherson oblast, Russian TV channels streamed the Ukrainian President's address.

26. New propaganda newspaper created in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia oblast

28.02.2023 On February 24, the occupiers published the first edition of the weekly propaganda newspaper "Golos Novorossyi" in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia oblast.

The propaganda publication is funded from the Russian "Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives", according to the newspaper's website. The initial plan is to publish five issues of the newspaper.

The propagandists plan to "report on the news and the everyday life of Russia's new regions, on their integration into the united cultural, economic, and civilizational space of the Russian Federation." They clarify that the first issue of the newspaper for the "DPR", "LPR" and the occupied Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts were published on the "first anniversary of the start of the SMO", that is, of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The editor-in-chief of the "Golos Novorossyi" is Yulia Shamal. Before this, she used to be the director of the propaganda media holding "ZaTV", which is based in the temporarily occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia oblast. Before the full-scale war, she worked at "Nravstvenny TV" in Russia, among other things, and is also the author of the documentaries "The Whole Truth About Wanga", "Who Rules the World", "Osama bin Laden. Secret Agent No.1". On the website, she is listed as a "writer" and "an experienced Russian media manager who already has experience working in the new regions."

According to the propaganda newspaper's website, it is published in partnership with the Civil Projects Fund "Stalker" and news agency Regnum, supported by the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives of the Russian Federation. Judging by the "Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives" website, it most likely is part of the project "Integration newspaper for territories that are being liberated", whose designated budget is 13 million rubles for half a year of work. At this budget, "Stalker" sets the following tasks for itself: to develop the concept of the printed edition; to develop the layout of the newspaper, the website, and te Telegram channel; to establish an office of the printed edition; to create a branch office in Belgorod; to create a correspondence department for the printed edition; to ensure the printing, delivery, and distribution of seven issues of the printed edition.

The content on the "Golos Novorossyi" website is propagandistic and written in the "Soviet" style. Namely, the content is published under such headlines as: "The integration into the space of the Russian Federation is proceeding rapidly", "People always remain in the center of all decisions", "8000 buildings restored in Novorossiya".

Propagandists from another Russian propaganda media, "Izvestia", were brought to work on "Golos Novorossyi". In particular, Maria Perevoschikova, who wrote about the "8000 buildings", works at "Izvestia". If you search the website of this Russian media outlet, you will find a bunch of content with her name on it.

Sergey Prudnikov is also an author at "Izvestia", writing a lot about the life in the occupied Donetsk oblast, as well as in "Golos Novorossyi", reporting on the situation in the city as told by "the new Mariupol Mayor, Oleg Morgun." Vasilisa Yaseneva, who writes articles about Putin in "Golos Novorossyi", is also from "Izvestia". Anton Lavrov writes about Russia's "SMO successes" both in "Izvestia" and "Golos", saying that "we were simply left with no other option to defend Russia."

As IMI reported, on August 1, 2022, a new Russian propaganda TV channel "ZaTV" opened in the occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia oblast. The channel's staff is Russian. The media holding "ZaMedia" also includes the propaganda radio "Za!Radio" and the newspaper "Zaporozhsky Vestnik".

27. Russians attempt to launch "Slobozhanske FM" in Kharkiv oblast

27.04.2023 The Russian occupiers are trying to stream a fake radio broadcast called "Slobozhanske FM" (90.2 FM) in Kharkiv oblast.

This was reported by the press office of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.

"We would like to stress that this is not the first time that the enemy attempts to pose as Ukrainian media and misinform the people of Kharkiv oblast," the RMA noted.

They listed the frequencies where you can get verified information:

Balaklia – 104.9 MHz; Zmiyiv – 90.8 MHz; Blyznyuki, Velyky Burluk – 100.1 MHz; Barvinkove – 103.4 MHz; Izyum – 89.7 MHz.

As IMI reported, the SBU investigators have issued a suspicion notice for treason to VII convocation deputy of the Izyum City Council, who sided with the Russians after the full-scale invasion, created the weekly propaganda newspaper "Izyumsky Telegraf" and assumed the position of editor-in-chief. The suspicion notice was issued in absentia.

Media that have ceased operations due to russia's war against Ukraine – 233

1. "Novyy Vizyt" media website in Henichesk ceases its work due to russian occupation

12.03.2022 In Henichesk (Kherson region), the "Novyy Vizyt" media website ceased its work and creative activity.

This was announced on Facebook by the publication's chief editor Hennadiy Osmak.

According to him, the website ceased its work "due to the current situation."

We remind that this evening, the website of the Henichesk City Council reported that the mayor, his deputies, the Council secretary, and the head of affairs of Executive Committee resigned.

russian troops occupied Henichesk on February 24.

2. Another Hinchesk media outlet ceases work

13.03.2022 Anna Sokolova, editor of the Pryazovska Pravda newspaper, stated that she ceases her work as a journalist from today.

She announced this on the media's Telegram channel.

Sokolova mentioned that the decision had to do with the "current conditions."

"I do not own the media company I manage, so, of course, I cannot automatically remove myself from the registers. However, from now on I ask you not to associate my name with Priazovska Pravda and any other publication," the journalist wrote.

She also warned readers that starting from this day she has nothing to do with any publications of Priazovska Pravda.

Anna Sokolova is the head of the Editorial Office of the Henichesk District Newspaper "Pryazovska Pravda."

The district newspaper stopped coming out in print about six months ago. Since the occupation of Henichesk by russian troops, the newspaper's editorial office has published its materials on its Facebook page and Telegram.

In 2021, "Pryazovska Pravda" turned 100 years old. This is one of the oldest mass media in the Kherson region.

3. Enerhodar TV channel "ENTS" stops broadcasting

13.03.2022 Enerhodar's local TV channel "ENTS" (Enerhodar Television Systems) has been forced to stop broadcasting. This was reported on the official website of the channel.

4. "Novyy den" newspaper ceases publication in occupied Melitopol

13.03.2022 In the occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, the city district newspaper "Novyy den" ceased publication.

The editor-in-chief of the publication Dilyara Kudusova announced this on March 13 on her Facebook page.

"In the conditions of occupation, the editorial office, unfortunately, is forced to stop publishing the Melitopol city district newspaper 'Novyy Den.' For now, we will work only via the sites and social media pages of Melitopol.City and 'Novyy Den,'" she wrote.

According to the post, since the announcement of the termination of the newspaper, any other publications with this name are not the product of their editorial team.

"If a periodical called 'Novyy den' appears somewhere, it will mean that someone is wantonly using our logo, and the editorial team has nothing to do with the content of the publications. We do not cooperate with the occupants. Glory to Ukraine!" wrote the editor of the periodical.

5. Izyum's Radio Klass stops broadcasting

05.04.2022 Radio station “Klass" from the town of Izyum, Kharkiv region, stopped broadcasting in the town.

This was reported to the IMI representative by the media.

The radio station also stopped broadcasting in Kupyansk (Kharkiv region) and Kostiantynivka (Donetsk region).

In Izyum and Kupyansk, the radio station stopped broadcasting on February 26, on the eve of the occupation of the city, when the fighting continued. And in Kostiantynivka broadcasting was stopped on March 14.

This decision was made after all the women employees left, trying to evade shelling, so no one left to do the job, to stay was to dangerous, the editorial office said. 

"After the occupation of Izyum, they decided to stop broadcasting, so as not to become the aggressor's spokesman," the editorial board stressed.

They added that the listeners were confused because they were used to listen to the radio station every day.

“They wrote to us, called us, asked us. We explained why we made such a decision, "the radio station spokeswoman said in a comment to IMI.

Radio “Klass” is a non-governmental music and information network radio station in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, covering Izyum and Kupyansk of Kharkiv region, as well as Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk and Bakhmut of Donetsk region, about 1 million listeners.

6. Modern culture magazine "SHO" closes down

01.06.2022 Due to the full-scale russian-Ukrainian war, the literary magazine "SHO" was forced to close down.

This was announced by the publication's editor-in-chief Oleksandr Kabanov on his Facebook page, Chytomо informs.

"Now my employees and I are completely out of work. War and Putin, god damn him. There has never been such a unique and large-scale educational project, dare I say, in the whole world. The magazine had been published in Russian and Ukrainian for 17 years. Full color, hard cover, all over Ukraine and beyond. It was the work of my whole life," he wrote.

The publication's website continues to operate.

SHO Magazine is a russian- and Ukrainian-language magazine dedicated to literature and culture. It had been published in Kyiv since 1995. The publication had been created as a humanitarian project aimed at expanding the Ukrainian cultural space.

"Thank you to everyone who was there and to those I wrote about. It was my crystal temple and my city of sin. Keep text notes about yourself, it is the history that lasts forever. It's endless," wrote one of the magazine's contributors, Oleksandr Proletarsky.

The "Kyivsky Lavry" International Literary Festival was also held by the magazine.

7. Khmelnytsky region newspaper "Prybuzka Zorya" closes due to financial difficulties

07.07.2022 "Prybuzka Zorya" newspaper (Khmelnytsky region) temporarily stopped publishing due to the difficult financial situation. This was reported by the editor, Svitlana Volkova, in the newspaper's last edition, issued in late June.

"Many legal, financial, material, and other issues have accumulated due to the military aggression. However, the most important of them, for every Ukrainian, is only one thing – when will the war end, when will our victory come. In view of the extremely difficult financial situation that has befallen the Prybuzka Zorya Newspaper Editorial Board LLC and very low subscription revenues, we made the decision to suspend the newspaper's publication until the end of 2022," the editor's statement reads.

Volkova also named six reasons that contributed to this decision. In particular, the denationalization of printed publications, Ukrposhta's decision to introduce mobile post offices and downsize stationary ones along with their staff, the "newspaper workers' lost battle" for efficiency with the Internet. Also, these are the prices for delivery, paper, and printing, a ban on subletting leased premises. And the sixth reason is the war.

Instead, Svitlana Volkova noted, all subscribers who have pre-paid for the publication until the end of the year will receive "Simeyna Hazeta" in accordance with the agreement between LLC "Prybuzka Zorya Newspaper EB" and LLC "E Publishing House."

"Prybuzka Zorya" is a printed district newspaper that has changed its name several times, but preserved the publication's history and the history of villages and towns of the present Khmelnytsky district on its paper pages, without switching to online format. It was impossible to find a single copy of "Prybuzka Zorya" being sold freely. This newspaper was only available through pre-paid subscription.

The first edition of the newspaper was published in 1919. In April 2019, the newspaper celebrated its 100th anniversary.

8. Poltava printed newspaper "Kozelshchynski Visti" closes down

09.11.2022 In Poltava oblast, the printed newspaper "Kozelshchynski Visti" has closed down. The last issue was released on November 9. The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Nadia Lytvyn, announced this on her Facebook page.

According to her, the main reason for the closure was lack of funding.

The editor-in-chief noted that the newspaper could not withstand the market tension, "the competition with its majesty the Internet and modern gadgets."

"Today, producing a printed edition is a luxury that we cannot afford, it is too expensive a hobby. In order to feed ourselves, we must ensure a print rate of at least 5,000 copies – which is unrealistic given the current demographic situation in our community. Moreover, one copy of a newspaper should cost at least thirty hryvnias today – are you all ready to pay this much for a newspaper? I doubt it..." Lytvyn wrote.

She noted that the publication's significant, if not the main, source of income used to be advertising. "Now the demand is effectively gone, and it's understandable: there's a war. And there won't be any in the future, either, because wealthy advertisers usually choose high-circulation publications. With our current print rate of 800 copies, we look more than impoverished, no one will want to invest in putting advertisements in our newspaper," she wrote.

According to Nadia Lytvyn, in order to publish a printed newspaper, you need at least four people on staff, provide them with a salary no lower than the minimum wage, pay all taxes, do office maintenance, and pay for the printing house's services.

"For the last six months, the editors have been running on sheer enthusiasm. Last winter, we had to work in the cold (and even now we don't heat our office to save money and electricity), with salary delays; but we tried (save for the one month and a half break we took at the beginning of the war) to publish new issues regularly, running solely on the donations from our caring friends from abroad and from local entrepreneurs," she wrote.

Lytvyn added that now all donations have ceased and no more income is expected.

The newspaper's last issue, released on November 9, was abridged, as they used the remainder of their funds to print it.

In a comment to IMI's representative in Poltava, Nadiya Lytvyn said that the editorial office did not plan to keep the newspaper running either in print or online.

"Our team is no more. Someone found another job, someone retired. No plans. No other publication. An overall fatigue from constant struggle for survival. After the denationalization, we were able to rent out an office on preferential terms, which costs huge money, while the law prohibits subletting. That is, we have been deprived of a stable source of income. Then there was the Ukrposhta reform, which simply killed us. They no longer deliver newspapers to villages at all, and we work for the villages. Next: the complete lack of advertisers. And, finally, the demographics: there is no one to subscribe to the newspaper anymore, not enough for the print rate to amount to a decent income, at any rate. We cannot set a real price because people are insolvent. For them, paying 8 hryvnias for a newspaper is expensive, and the cost price is 30 hryvnias. What is there to talk about? So, no more newspaper," said Nadia Lytvyn.

9. Volyn newspaper "Kolos" temporarily closes down due to lack of funding

13.01.2023 The Volyn newspaper "Kolos" temporarily closed down for 2023. The newspaper's editor-in-chief, Leon Kondratyuk, announced this in the last issue (December 22, 2022).

"This difficult decision was made not at once, but over the course of several months of painful consideration and struggle for survival. After all, it is no secret that we are on the verge of bankruptcy. The reasons are many, but the main thing is that we don't have enough money to pay for the printing of each single issue of the newspaper," he wrote.

According to Leon Kondratyuk, the newspaper needs financial support: "I'll be honest, we didn't want village councils to allocate funds to us. We asked them to print advertisements and other content on the pages of our newspaper and to pay us for it accordingly. The benefit in this is obvious: people would have information, and we would have at least a little funding."

The editor of the newspaper also stressed that the people of Volyn need the newspaper, but the authorities do not, because no step has been taken to support the publication.

"On the one hand, it is understandable: there is a war going on, and our defenders need the money. On the other hand, the community budget would have be suffered if they had allocated 30–40 thousand for our support, which they could," wrote Leon Kondratyuk.

"Kolos" is an Ivanychi district newspaper. According to YouControl, the newspaper was first registered on 02.16.1994, and as of January 12, 2023, it is not in the process of closing down permanently.

An IMI representative took a photo the last issue of "Kolos" in the Olena Pchilka Science Library, Volyn Oblast.

Moreover, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, at least 224 TV and radio broadcasters and printed media outlets (national, regional, and local) in several regions have ceased or suspended their work and broadcasting due to the hostilities and occupation. These are media outlets of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Luhansk, Chenihiv oblasts.

The list includes such media outlets:

Donetsk oblast: Anti-crisis media center in Kramatorsk, Mariupol: MTV, TV6, Sigma channels, "Pryazovsky robochy" newspaper, MRPL.CITY online media, Mariupol News.

Dnipro: Channel 34

Zaporizhzhia oblast: "Proberdyansk," "Porohy" online media, MTV Plus channel, "Rost," "Nashe misto–Tokmak," "Tokmakska hryvnia," "Tavria," "Zaporizka Pravda," MIG, "Avoska," (a separate appendice to MIG newspaper), "Panorama" newspapers, "Akimovsky Vestnik" website.

Zakarpattia oblast: "Uzhgorod" newspaper.

Luhansk oblast: troyitske.city website, "Kreminshchyna," "Visti Belovodshchyny," "Zhyttia Bilokurakinshchyny," "Slovo khliboroba" newspapers, TRC "Donbas.online," Irta TV channel, "Siverskyy Donets" crisis mediacenter.

Lviv oblast: "Zoria" newspaper.

Kropyvnytsky: "Vechirnya Hazeta" newspaper, "Provincia" newspaper.

Mykolaiv oblast: "Vecherniy Nikolaev," "Yuzhnaya Pravda," "Nikolayevskie novosti," "Promin," "Ridne Prybuzhzhia," "Berezan," "Holos Bashtanshchyny," "Ochakiv," "Visty Snihurivshchyny," "Den za Dnem," "Vpered," "Nove zhyttia," "Peremoha," "Prybusky visnyk" newspapers.

Odesa oblast: TRC "Odesa Life," "Porto Franco" newspaper.

Poltava: "Hadiatsky visnyk" newspaper.

Kherson city and the oblast: "Grivna," "Novyy den" newspapers, Kherson.net.ua online media, Newtime Kherson, "Kakhovska zoria" newspaper, "Henichesk city," Bilozerka.info, KRATU.

Kharkiv oblast: "Kupyansky Informaciyny Telechannel," Kharkiv press centers: Vremya, KharkivToday, Presklub, Nakypilo; "Visnyk Velykoburluchyny," "Visnyk Kupyanshchyny," "Visnyk Balakliivshchyny," "Visti Barvinkivshchyny," "Dvorichansky  kray," "Obrii Izyumshchyny," "Trudova slava" newspapers, TRC "Sokil," "Objektyv" media group, TRC ATN, "Nakypilo" radio.

Khmelnytsky oblast: "Starkon City" newspaper, "Aktualno" (Aktualno Dlya Podolyan) newspaper.

Chernihiv oblast: Bakhmach newspapers "Holos Prysejmivya" and "Poradnyk," Bobrovytsia newspaper "Nashe zhyttia," Borzna newspaper "Visti Borznyanshchyny," Varva newspaper "Slovo Varvynshchyny," Horodnya newspaper "Novyny Horodnyanshchyny," Ichnya newspaper "Trudova slava," Kozelets newspaper "Novyny Prydesennya," Korop newspaper "Novi Horyzonty," Koryukivka newspaper "Mayak," Kulykivka newspaper "Poliska pravda,"  Mena newspaper "Nashe slovo," Nizhyn newspapers "Nizhynsky visnyk" and "Visti," Novhorod-Siversky newspaper "Siversky kray," Nosivka newspaper "Nosivski visti," "Pryluchyna v novynakh, podiyakh, komentaryakh" newspaper, Pryluky town newspaper "Hrad Pryluky," Ripky newspaper "Zhyttia Polissya," Semenivka newspaper "Zhyttia Semenivshchyny," Sosnytsya newspapers "Visti Sosnychyny" and "Chas," Sribne newspaper "Sribnyanshchyna," Talalaivka newspaper "Trybuna khliboroba," Chernihiv newspaper "NK," Snovsk district newspaper "Promin," newspapers "Visnyk C," "7 days," "Vest," "Desnyanska pravda," Gorod.cn.ua website, newspapers "Nashe Zhyttia Plus" (Bobrovytsia), "Nash Kray" (Chernihiv district), "Desnianka", "1 FM Studio" radio station.

Chernivtsi: "Chernivtsi!" newspaper.

Suspilne.Culture (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kherson, Luhansk oblasts), Pershyy (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson oblasts), Tvoya Stykhiya tv5 (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), ALEX.UA (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Suspilne Donbas (broadcasting in Luhansk and Donetsk oblast), Suspilne Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhia oblast), Suspilne Kharkiv (Kharkiv oblast), Suspilne Kherson (Kherson oblast), Suspilne Crimea (Kherson oblast), IPTA (Luhansk oblast), Donbas (Donetsk oblast),

AVIS (broadcasting in Kyiv oblast), BMTK TV-Berdyansk BMR KP (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast),

Enerhoatom SE NNEGC (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), TV channel Poglyad (Kyiv oblast),

TVM (Zaporizhzhia oblast), Kapri (Donetsk oblast), Orbita TV company (Donetsk oblast),

2+2 9 channel (Dnipro oblast), EnTS (Zaporizhzhia oblast), UNIAN.Zaporizhzhia (Zaporizhzhia oblast), Infocenter (Donetsk oblast), UNIAN. Nikopol (Dnipro oblast), MTV.plus (Zaporizhzhia oblast), TV 7 (Donetsk oblast), TV 8 (Donetsk oblast), TRK-8 (Donetsk oblast), YUG (Zaporizhzhia), Sigma (Donetsk oblast), MTV (Donetsk oblast), STV (Luhansk oblast)

Akcent (Luhansk oblast), 2+2 Mykolaiv (Mykolaiv oblast), 7 (Kharkiv oblast), Chuhuiv district TRC Slobozhanka (Kharkiv oblast), 2+2 S – TET (Kharkiv oblast), P1 (Kharkiv oblast), Simon (Kharkiv oblast), Kupyansk News TV Channel KIT (Kharkiv oblast), LLC Intercom-Invest (Kharkiv oblast), TRC Center (Kharkiv oblast),

Channel 23 (Kharkiv oblast), PRO fit (Kharkiv oblast), VTV plus (Kherson oblast),

TViy Plus (Kherson oblast), KRATU (Kherson oblast), YaTB (Kherson oblast),

Kherson Plus (Kherson oblast), "Pershyy Dilovyy" (broadcasting in Kyiv oblast), UΛ: Donbas (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Sonata TV (broadcasting in Kyiv oblast), Donbas Online (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Donbas (broadcasting in Donetsk oblast), Nashe Radio (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Radio Culture (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Kherson oblasts), Ukrainske Radio (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson oblasts), Radio Promin (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Kharkiv, Kherson oblasts), Krayina FM (broadcasting in Mykolaiv oblast), Perets FM (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson, Chernihiv oblasts), HIT FM (broadcasting in Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts),

Melodiya FM (broadcasting in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson oblasts), Radio Chanson (broadcasting in Mykolaiv oblast), Radio Bayraktar (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Perets FM (broadcasting in Vinnytsia, Mykolaiv, Kherson oblasts), Relax (broadcasting in Kherson, Donetsk oblasts), Melodiya FM (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Lada (broadcasting in Vinnytsia oblast), Irta (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Hromadske radio (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Radio ROKS – Ukraine (broadcasting in Donetsk oblast), Radio Klas! (broadcasting in Donetsk, Kharkiv oblasts), KISS FM (broadcasting in Donetsk oblast), Radio Maria (broadcasting in Kharkiv oblast), Radio Chanson (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Radio Miami (broadcasting in Odesa oblast), Lux FM (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Army FM – Military Radio (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk, Kherson oblasts), Radio Krym.Realii (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Dani (broadcasting in Kharkiv oblast), Donbas Online (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Hovoryt Izyum (broadcasting in Kharkiv oblast), Vesele FM (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Lepetykha FM (broadcasting in Kherson oblast),

Hovoryt Vovchansk (broadcasting in Kharkiv oblast), Shevchenkivsky RM KU (broadcasting in Kharkiv oblast), Maksymum FM (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Hovoryt Rykove (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Ivanivka FM (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Radio 49 Parallel (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), onefm (broadcasting in Chernihiv oblast), STV (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast),

Format (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Azovska Khvylia (broadcasting in Zaporizhzhia oblast), Radio ROKS – Ukraine (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), Perets FM Mykolaiv (broadcasting in Mykolaiv oblast), russkoye radio (broadcasting in Donetsk oblast), Hovoryt Rubizhne (broadcasting in Luhansk oblast), Svoboda.FM (broadcasting in Chernihiv oblast), DJ FM (broadcasting in Kherson oblast), RADIO UNA (broadcasting in Donetsk oblast).

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