Reporters Without Borders: Journalists in Ukraine are in greater physical danger than ever before

Ukraine ranks 106th (out of 180 countries) in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) World Press Freedom Index for 2022.   

In 2021 Ukraine was in 97th place. Ukraine dropped in the rankings because of the full-scale russian invasion. The russian military has attacked news sources in occupied territories and forced them to cooperate.  

«In Eastern Europe, beyond the human tragedies, the war waged by Russia (155th) against Ukraine is creating devastating consequences for press freedom in the region. As many as five journalists and media workers have died as a result of gunfire during the first month of the Russian offensive, which began on 24 February 2022», – says the RSF report on Europe and Central Asia.  

Ukraine received a total score of 55.76 out of a maximum 100 (100 being the best). 

In its report on Ukraine, RSF describes the media landscape in the country as being diverse, but largely «in the grip of oligarchs who own all the national TV channels– except the state broadcaster Suspilne – and influence their editorial policies».

RSF stresses that «even before the russian invasion, local media and news sites were weakened by the Covid-19 crisis and by territorial disputes, forcing many of them to shut down. To survive, many outlets resorted to publishing biased, sponsored content, fuelling public mistrust of the media».

The RSF index can be viewed as an interactive map.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is an international non-profit organization that aims to safeguard the right to freedom of information around the world. The organization fights censorship and provides assistance to journalists who have been imprisoned because of their professional activities.  

The World Press Freedom Index has been compiled by RSF since 2002. The ranking is based on five indicators: political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context and safety.

In the first two months of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, russia committed 243 crimes against journalists and the media. 

Read also: How PEN International reacts to violations of freedom of expression and how threatened artists can get help

Source: Detector Media

Photo: investory