“Holiday of the bravest among us:” NUJU congratulates colleagues defending Motherland with weapons in their hands. Happy AFU Day!

The Day of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), celebrated on December 6, is also a journalistic holiday as many of our colleagues put down their laptops and voice recorders and took up weapons in order to protect the Motherland from the enemy invasion.

“War is a difficult test for all Ukrainians, and journalists are no exception,” emphasizes Sergiy Tomilenko, the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU). “Today’s holiday is the holiday of the most courageous among us.”

Volodymyr Danyliuk, the secretary of the NUJU/editor-in-chief of the Volodymyretskyi Visnyk newspaper from the Rivne Region, has been a member of the AFU since the beginning of the war.

“On February 24, 2022, there was no question of what was more important, what was of higher priority. When the enemy attacked our land, when missiles and bombs flew at our cities, it was necessary to stand with others to defend our land, our home, our Ukraine,” Volodymyr Danyliuk said in a comment to the NUJU. “Issues related to journalism inevitably fall into the background. Journalism remains in my heart, in the hearts of colleagues who are now in the Defense Forces in various areas protecting Ukraine.”

Volodymyr Danyliuk emphasized that he will definitely return to his favorite profession… but – after the Victory!

Experienced war correspondent Mykhailo Sharkov is currently serving in the AFU.

“Working in the combat zone on the front line for a year and a half, I saw a lot of things. I realized that no photo, video, or article could convey the horror or human grief really happening there. You return home from a business trip, start to edit a story or process photos, and again experience this horror, the same feelings. Meanwhile, you receive a message that the person with whom you were in the same trench, about whom you are filming, is no longer there…,” said Mykhailo in a comment to the NUJU.

Sergiy Tomilenko, congratulating the employees of the military press services and all Ukrainian soldiers who joined the ranks of the Defense Forces of Ukraine on AFU Day from media newsrooms, on behalf of his colleagues in the journalistic workshop, expresses great respect to them and wishes them Victory and a speedy return to their families and their newsroom teams.

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Ukrainian Heroes! Journalists are Important!

NUJU Information Service