“Many Lithuanians know firsthand what is happening at the front,” Lina Kushch

On May 7, Lithuania celebrated the Day of the Lithuanian Press, Book and Language. More than 120 years ago, Lithuanians once again had the opportunity to speak, write, and publish in their native language – after a 40-year ban by the empire.

On this day, the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union gathered colleagues for a celebration in the atmospheric hall of the Ministry of Culture, where greetings and music by Mikalojus Čiurlionis sounded. Later, the union’s office opened a traditional exhibition of paintings by journalists. These works are as diverse as journalism itself: different styles, techniques, themes – but everyone was able to reveal their creative ideas. And it was noticeable how the colleagues were waiting for this exhibition, for them it is always a big event.

During these two days in the Lithuanian capital, the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Lina Kushch, and the coordinator of the NUJU Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) in Kharkiv, Hanna Chernenko, were impressed by the support for Ukraine from Lithuanian colleagues and the Lithuanian people.

“We talked with journalists who cover the events of the russian-Ukrainian war, with volunteers who bring aid to the Ukrainian military, with their mothers and wives who also raise funds, look for contacts and opportunities. Many Lithuanians know not from stories, but personally about what is happening at the front,” said Lina Kushch.

The First Secretary of the NUJU added that in Lithuania, on the buildings of all official institutions, Ukrainian flags are flying alongside the flags of Lithuania and the EU. Ukrainian flags are in coffee shops, in the windows of houses, on balconies… Lithuania and Ukraine are united by the struggle for their native language, for the right to determine their path of development, to be independent from the empire.

“Special thanks to the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, which stood by Ukrainian journalists from the first days of the invasion and supported the first issue of the newspaper, We Are From Ukraine. This publication has become a rarity; it turned out to be so popular in 2022,” Lina Kushch noted.

NUJU‘s friends, led by Dainius Radzevičius, support Ukrainian colleagues on international platforms, where the two unions are fighting for the release of captured Ukrainian journalists, for the rights of media workers during the war, and for the sustainable development of Ukrainian media.

“Thank you, friends, for being with us. Dear Head of the Klaipeda District Branch of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, Jolanta Beniušytė, I am proud that your student received the highest score for her work dedicated to the activities of Ukrainian journalists during the war. This gives us faith, strength, and motivation to continue our work. And special thanks for the opportunity to spend these few days in the atmosphere of a peaceful city without air alarms,” Lina Kushch concluded.