“I saw with my own eyes what grief Russian aggression brings to people,” German journalist Bernhard Сlasen

German journalist Bernhard Сlasen, who covered the war in Ukraine with the support of the Zaporizhzhia Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC), presented the collected photo materials at the community college in the city of Mönchengladbach.

“I saw with my own eyes the grief that Russian aggression in Ukraine brings to people. I communicated with thousands of civilians; I saw children whose childhood was scorched by war. And that’s why this war has become my personal matter,” said the German journalist.

Bernhard Clasen has been working in Ukraine for the ninth year. He writes articles and reports for the TAZ newspaper. Mr. Clasen speaks Ukrainian well. During the year of the full-scale invasion, he visited Bucha, Izium, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Uzhhorod, Poltava, and Chernivtsi.

“Nine years ago, I chose a mission for myself. It is to, through human destinies, cover all the events that happened in Ukraine in connection with the attack of the Russian Federation; to show the whole world how Ukrainians defend their freedom and independence,” says the journalist.

During these years, he got to know Ukrainians and, he admits, sympathizes with these people.

“When trouble comes, Ukrainians become united, courageous, energetic, and stick together in a common fight against the enemy,” he noted.

Call the Zaporizhzhia JSC by dialing 096 277 5352 (Nataliya Kuzmenko, the Zaporizhzhia JSC coordinator). The Center’s address is 152 Sobornyi Avenue.

As earlier reported, the Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.

UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.

The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.

Valentyna Bystrova