Russia has committed 529 crimes against the media since start of full-scale invasion: Report

A year and six months since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 529 crimes against journalists and media outlets in Ukraine. This is according to a new report from  the Institute of Mass Information (IMI) that is monitoring cases of Russian crimes against journalists and media outlets.

Ever since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the occupiers have:

• Killed 66 journalists, including 10 who were killed while doing their job. Russians have killed six foreign and 60 Ukrainian journalists;
• Captured or kidnapped media workers 22 times. In particular, UNIAN journalist Dmytro Khylyuk and Iryna Levchenko, a journalist from the temporarily occupied city of Melitopol, remain in captivity;
• 24 journalists have been injured as a result of Russian shelling. As a result,  journalists suffered contusions, fractures, shrapnel wounds and injuries to their limbs.

During the year and a half of the full-scale invasion, Russians shelled Ukrainian TV towers, which are civilian objects, 16 times. This caused the loss of television and radio broadcasting in nine regions of Ukraine. 

At least 233 Ukrainian media outlets have stopped their activity completely or partially during the full-scale invasion. Media outlets were forced to close due to direct threats from the Russian occupiers, seizure of editorial offices, inability to work under the temporary occupation, destruction of editorial offices and financial crisis.

RELATED: NUJU: Russia has killed 63 Ukrainian media workers since Feb. 24, 2022

So far, IMI has recorded 55 attacks on media websites that were covering the events of war They have also traced 67 cases of threats to journalists and editorial offices of both national and regional media. The occupiers threatened them physically (came to the homes of journalists or their parents’) and intimidated them online (sent emails threatening criminal prosecution, imprisonment, torture and interrogation).

In July and August 2023, IMI recorded a total of five violations of freedom of speech committed by Russia: injuries to journalists, cyberattacks and legal pressure on media.

Maksym Shvartsman, a soldier, photo journalist and cameraman at the Chernivtsi news agency A.C.C, was killed at the front line in Donetsk region in July. Dylan Collins, a journalist for the French news agency AFP, was wounded near Bakhmut. Natalia Moseychuk and Yanina Sokolova, Ukrainian journalists, are on a Russian wanted list. 

In addition, on the night of Aug. 21, the Russian occupiers hacked the telegram channel of the Ukrainian edition of RIA Melitopol, which continued to operate after the temporary occupation of Melitopol. As reported, Russia committed four crimes against Ukrainian journalists in July, and six crimes against Ukrainian media workers in June.

Main image: ІМІ