“Here we feel like we are among like-minded people and true friends who have supported us since the first days of the full-scale war,” Lina Kushch in Vilnius

First Secretary Lina Kushch with Kharkiv media worker, coordinator of the Kharkiv Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) Hanna Chernenko, joined the conference entitled Media Freedom in the Context of War held in Vilnius (Lithuania).

According to the First Secretary, Lithuanian colleagues actively discussed the issues of independent journalism during the war and the protection of media workers by international law. The head of the Lithuanian Journalists’ Union, Dainius Radzevičius, moderated the discussion on readiness for possible challenges. Lithuanian Minister of Justice Rimantas Mockus remembered journalist Victoria Roshchina, who died in russian captivity.

As part of the event, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) launched a photo exhibition called Journalists at War, which demonstrates the risks of Ukrainian media workers’ work.

Hanna Chernenko shared survival instructions, created based on her experience working in frontline areas, with her European colleagues.

The speaker emphasized the importance of knowledge of first aid and using a first aid kit, extreme driving skills, physical endurance and teamwork, and following the instructions of the military and rescuers.

The media worker drew attention to the risk of emotional burnout and emphasized the importance of taking care of mental health: “You will never be ready for human grief… If you live in a war, you will not protect yourself from depression and trauma, but you need to do everything possible to support yourself.”

Her speech is a collection of tips that help journalists survive in times of war.

“Here we feel like we are in a circle of like-minded people and true friends who have supported us since the first days of the Great War. I would very much like the advice we give today to never come in handy,” added First Secretary Lina Kushch.

NUJU Information Service