Sloviansk and Kramatorsk district readers to receive revived Visti newspaper

The first issue of the Visti newspaper, published in Sloviyansk, Donetsk Region, after a long break, was published today, June 1, with the support of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

Oleksandr Kulbaka, the editor-in-chief of Visti, informed the press service of the NUJU about this.

Visti’s publishing was suspended on February 24, 2022, when the full-scale Russian invasion began. Soon, the shelling of Sloviyansk and other settlements where the newspaper was distributed began. The Ukrposhta postal service temporarily stopped distributing newspapers to readers. Part of the territories where Visti subscribers live got occupied: for example, the city of Sviatohirsk, the villages of Bohorodichne, Dolyna, and Krasnopillia. In the end, the newsroom was evacuated to safer regions of Ukraine.

“The example of our colleagues who, with the assistance of the NUJU, restored their print media in the de-occupied territories, helped us make a decision about resuming the printing of our paper newspaper,” says Oleksandr Kulbaka. “Sloviyansk is gradually getting back to life; many people have returned. Currently, about 60,000 people live there, while the pre-war indicator was 120,000. They need to be informed.”

According to Oleksandr Kulbaka, four people are currently working on the newspaper published on four pages now (before the war, it contained 12 pages). At first, Visti will be published once every two weeks.

“The majority of the newsroom team is my journalistic family: my wife Olha, my son Hryhorii, who is also the editor of the Karachun website, and I,” says Oleksandr Kulbaka. “Our designer Olena Zaitseva typesets the newspaper.”

The funds allocated by the NUJU and its foreign partners will be enough for several issues, so that the newspaper will look for other sources of funding. The newsroom hopes for the support of international financial donors.

Last year’s Visti subscribers will receive a part of the circulation; the rest will be distributed free of charge in public places, in particular, via the Central Services Centers, social security office, etc., according to an agreement with the military administration. The newspaper is being printed in Kyiv and will reach its readers tomorrow.

Oleksandr Kulbaka emphasizes that from now on, Visti will be published exclusively in Ukrainian. Although the legislation does not require it, it was the newsroom’s conscious decision.

“Putin’s aggression and the atrocities of the Russians in Ukraine forced our compatriots to reconsider many things in their lives,” notes the editor. “Therefore, it is quite logical that a huge number of residents of Donetsk Region consciously and voluntarily chose their native Ukrainian language for everyday communication!”

As earlier reported, the restoration of the print media in the front-line and de-occupied territories, where mobile communication and the Internet are often unstable or completely absent, is among the priorities of the NUJU.

Visti will become the 26^th newspaper restored in the front-line and de-occupied territories with the assistance of the Union.

NUJU Information Service