THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The number of attacks on media representatives in Ukraine in 2024 increased by 36% compared to the previous year. The London-based Justice for Journalists Foundation, in partnership with the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), has published an annual report on attacks on media representatives in Ukraine.
According to the Media Risk Map Foundation’s own monitoring data, in 2024, experts recorded 121 cases of attacks or threats against media workers and newsrooms. This is a significant increase compared to 89 incidents in 2023 (+36%). However, the situation still remains less critical than in 2022, when 277 attacks were registered.
Key trends and facts from the report:
Journalists killed
In 2024, the death of two journalists was recorded: the security adviser of the Reuters film crew, Ryan Evans, was killed in a russian missile attack on a hotel in Kramatorsk, and Ukrainian journalist Victoria Roshchina died in russian captivity; the cause of her death is still unclear.
“Double strike” tactics
Russian forces continued their “double strike” tactics against journalists working in war zones. This is a tactic of hitting the same target again after rescuers arrive and journalists turn up there to report on the initial attack; as a result of such attacks in 2024, at least seven journalists sustained injuries, some serious: Anna Myasnikova, Viktor Pichugin, Yulia Boyko, Kira Oves, Olga Zvonareva, Dmytro Yevchyn.
Cyberattacks and damage to newsrooms
The main reason behind the increase in the number of attacks was the resumption of massive cyber and DDoS attacks on Ukrainian media (at least 40 cases), as well as an increase in the number of targeted attacks by the russian army in the frontline regions.
In 2024, at least 10 cases of damage or destruction of premises where media offices are located were recorded. Among the victims were the newsrooms of the newspapers Vorskla, Zoria, Ridne Misto, Golos Huliaipillia, TV channels Capri, Vidikon, and others.
The situation with journalists in the occupied territories
According to verified data from the NUJU, as of 14 January 2025, at least 30 civilian media workers, including Crimean citizen journalists, remain in russian captivity.
In March 2024, russian security forces in the temporarily occupied Kherson Region detained the former editor-in-chief of the local online media outlet Novyi Vizyt Hennadii Osmak. In June, the former editor of the newspaper Kakhovska Zoria Zhanna Kyseliyova was kidnapped; her whereabouts are still unknown.
Difficult working conditions for the media
Most Ukrainian media, especially regional media, continue to work in extremely difficult conditions: staff receive minimum pay (or sometimes no pay at all); their premises may be destroyed (there were ten confirmed cases of buildings housing media offices being destroyed in 2024); as well as significant staff reductions.
Despite these challenges, Ukrainian media continue to operate, ensuring citizens’ right to information.
NUJU Information Service
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