“It’s a myth that journalists in Ukraine cannot cover the war objectively,” Ukrainian journalists from Krakow

Once again, the issue of objective coverage of news in Ukraine has been discussed at the RE:COVER international event in Krakow (Poland). Before, the matter was already discussed at the same RE:COVER conference in Bratislava back in 2022. Last year, there were claims that Ukrainian journalists could more easily cover the war, for example, in Syria, while in journalists’ native country, they have to work differently.

“It is a myth that journalists in Ukraine cannot cover the war objectively. Yes, journalists in Ukraine are under enormous stress. But this does not prevent them from being objective as no one better navigates the situation than they do!” says investigative journalist Liubov Velychko.

“However, journalists feel emotions as this is their war… And foreigners can feel it in the mass media,” says a fellow journalist who became a refugee and now lives not in Ukraine but in Germany.

“It is difficult to write about the war in Ukraine without emotional involvement. After all, our relatives are in Ukraine. But we communicate with our German colleagues. And some materials are rejected in the presence of emotional aspects. This is not a problem. It’s a different mentality. When we write for ourselves, we try to support each other. When I brought the material about the village 20 kilometers from Kharkiv, the German editor deleted all emotions. The German editor should know only the essence, facts, and figures. How much aid was provided, how many shelling cases were registered,” says Yuliya Valova from Der Tagesspiegel.

Andrii Kulikov, a Ukrainian journalist, editor, radio host, TV presenter, media expert, and media coach, clearly expresses his idea in his speech:

“Only the truth must be told. Unfortunately, the question of truth is delayed in times of war. There are some principles. We must understand that we often confuse objectivity with neutrality. We must be objective. Timeliness and speed are something that should be considered and always followed, as well as ethical standards.”

Nazarii Vivcharyk, Krakow