Finnish Journalists Union Continues Strong Support for Ukrainian Media on Frontlines

The Union of Journalists in Finland (Journalistiliitto) has provided new targeted support for media workers in Ukraine’s frontline regions through the Journalists’ Solidarity Center in Zaporizhzhia. This continues the consistent assistance from Finnish journalists to their Ukrainian colleagues since Russia’s full-scale invasion.

“Journalists in Ukraine must be able to carry out their vital work so that the world knows what is happening there,” – emphasizes Salla Nazarenko, International Affairs Expert at Journalistiliitto.

“We are deeply grateful to our Finnish colleagues for their consistent support. Unfortunately, the war continues, and journalists, especially in frontline territories, still need assistance to maintain their crucial work of informing communities and documenting events,” – says Sergiy Tomilenko, President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

Fourteen media outlets received essential equipment, including protective gear, internet equipment, generators, power banks, and storage devices. Here’s what Ukrainian journalists say about this support:

Dmytro Zlochevsky, Editor-in-Chief of the 5th TV Editorial Office: “Power banks are absolutely essential for our editorial team now. Power outages don’t scare us anymore. We’re deeply grateful to our Finnish colleagues for their support!”

Kateryna Klochko, photojournalist at “061” website: “For journalists working in frontline areas without electricity, this is a royal gift. We can now charge both mobile phones and cameras when needed.”

Kateryna Rozhdestvenska, head of “Soda.ua” website: “We’re grateful to NUJU for consistently supporting our youth media outlet. The power bank is crucial as we work 24/7.”

Yuriy Yurchenko, head of MTM TV channel: “Our film crews are accredited to work on the frontlines. We’re creating a documentary archive of this modern history. External storage devices are exactly what we need to preserve these materials.”

Svitlana Karpenko, Editor-in-Chief of “Trudova Slava” newspaper from Orikhiv, just kilometers from the frontline: “This isn’t the first assistance from our European colleagues that has enabled us to continue publishing and delivering objective information about the war. We’re deeply grateful to Finnish journalists and NUJU for effective international activities that maintain global interest in Ukraine.”

Svitlana Zalizetska, head of RIA “South”: “Journalists are important! Support and solidarity are our strength now. We film a lot of war footage, so external storage is essential for our work.”

Kateryna Zavarzina, Editor-in-Chief of “Our Life” newspaper: “For readers in frontline territories, we are essentially their only source of information. We will continue working despite everything, and the lighting system from Finnish colleagues will help us with this.”

Maxym Ostapenko, Editor-in-Chief of “Reconstruction. Zaporizhzhia” website: “As a relatively young media outlet, we’re developing dynamically. The solar lighting system will allow us to work efficiently even during blackouts.”

The sustained support demonstrates the strong solidarity between Finnish and Ukrainian journalists in maintaining press freedom under extremely challenging conditions. Twenty different devices and pieces of equipment have been distributed to help Zaporizhzhia media workers continue their vital mission of documenting the war and serving their communities.

This support is coordinated through the Network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers in Ukraine, established by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine with support from international partners – IFJ, EFJ and UNESCO.