“Don’t let Ukraine disappear from your news feeds,” Sergiy Tomilenko at the Congress of the German Journalists Association

“When an air raid alert goes off on my smartphone, it’s not just a warning to Ukraine. This is an alarm signal for the whole of Europe. If russian aggression is not stopped today, tomorrow, these sirens might go off on your phones….”

With these words, the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Sergiy Tomilenko, began his speech as an honored guest at the Congress of Germany’s largest journalistic organization, the German Journalists Association (DJV) in Ingolstadt. The event took place on November 10.

“It is a great honor for me to represent Ukraine at this landmark event – the 75^th anniversary of the German Journalists Association with the participation of 200 delegates,” said Sergiy Tomilenko. “On the day I went to the Congress, Kyiv was under an air raid alert for more than eight hours. Russian drones damaged buildings in five districts of the capital. This is our daily reality.”

The NUJU President shared three key facts about journalism in wartime:

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of russia, at least 103 media workers have been killed, including 18 of them while performing professional duties. The last victim was Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchina, who died in russian captivity;
• More than 30 media workers and citizen journalists are in captivity. Among them are five women. They are tortured, they are falsely accused of “terrorism” and “extremism;”
• And the third is about courage and hope. Thirty-two local newspapers continue to appear on the front lines. When there is no light, communication, or internet, it is the print media that remains the only reliable source of information, literally saving people’s lives with up-to-date information on evacuation and humanitarian aid;

Congress delegates were shown a video about the work of Ukrainian journalists during the war and the activities of our joint-stock company network. On the sidelines of the Congress, there is a NUJU photo exhibition about the work of journalists during the war.

“I was touched by the reaction of my German colleagues – they greeted the Ukrainian performance standing up, admiring the courage and resilience of Ukrainian journalists,” Sergiy Tomilenko notes.

On behalf of the NUJU, he presented the German Journalists Association with a special award “for the strong voice of free journalism and unwavering support of the Ukrainian media community in wartime.” German support is significant – just a few months ago, the NUJU received an additional batch of 70 bulletproof vests and helmets for journalists.

“My main message to my German colleagues: do not let Ukraine disappear from your newspaper columns, from your TV broadcasts, from your news feeds,” emphasized Sergiy Tomilenko.

NUJU Information Service