“In russia, all journalism boils down to propaganda,” Ukrainian journalist Oleksandr Hunko, who went through russian captivity

For the fourth year, a cluster of memories about the experiences during the occupation continues to press on the consciousness, pulsating to the point of groaning in the head of Oleksandr Hunko, a journalist from Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson Region. In that heavy cluster of memories, three days in custody, threats from the occupiers, torture, and coercion accumulated…

It is very difficult to convey the horror of imprisonment in words; only those who have experienced hellish days and nights, gone through it to the end and survived have a full understanding of the level of feelings. And can they throw out all the experiences that come to them in memories, take away their health, and drive away sleep? That is why the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) speaks, shows, writes, and will repeat again and again the stories about the pain and suffering of media workers who had to experience all the “charms” of the “russian world” in the torture chambers, so that the world does not forget about the crimes that war brings, committed by the occupiers in Ukraine.

The journalist managed to leave Nova Kakhovka, where it was difficult to endure the occupation; he was detained twice more, sirens wailed for 40 minutes, APCs, KAMAZ trucks, and other enemy equipment rumbled under the window day and night, explosions were heard, the daily shadow of the Facebooks hung over him. However, at first it was believed that all this would pass quickly…

Oleksandr Hunko and his wife set off for Lviv. The road took five long days, with stops at 15 checkpoints. Then, the family moved to Kyiv. Six months of occupation, torture, and abuse added to the pain in the heart and undermined the journalist’s health. He underwent two operations. The difficulties were easier to overcome with the support of the media community – the Agency for the Development of Local Media, the NUJU, the Independent Media Trade Union, and the Lviv Media Forum.

Oleksandr Hunko continues to remain in the ranks of Ukrainian media workers and maintains his website. Before the war, Nova Kakhovka had six news websites, three newspapers, and a radio station. Only the Nova Kakhovka.City website remained that it is a true source of information for the townspeople under occupation and for the Nova Kakhovka residents who have scattered across Ukraine and the world. In an interview for the NUJU, which took place shortly before the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion of the russian federation, Oleksandr Hunko said:

“I knew that I had to fulfill my duty. Especially since this is a war, such an epochal event that will resonate for many years to come, and that’s why I have to record everything. Both as a journalist and as a writer. During the occupation, I wrote about fifty poems describing the state of the people there and what is happening in Ukraine.”

In Kyiv, in 2023, Oleksandr Hunko published a new book of poems titled Call to the Savior, which was nominated for the Taras Shevchenko National Prize of Ukraine.

The media person adds that the international community should pay attention. For the occupiers, the very first targets during the occupation were ATO participants and journalists. They considered these categories to be equally the most dangerous for themselves. For them, all journalism is reduced to propaganda; without adhering to any standards, there is no point in talking about freedom of speech. It is necessary to understand the mentality of the russians; they believe that they are allowed everything, and that is why they commit many crimes, including against the civilian population.

The russians understand only force, and from this position, they need to be dealt with. The enemies hate journalists who document their atrocities. Having his own experience of imprisonment, cruel treatment by the occupiers, having undergone moral and physical impact, Oleksandr believes that it is worth continuing to focus on the problem of captured media workers, those who still remain in the temporarily occupied territories and seek to get out of there, but do not yet have such opportunities. By the way, this is what the NUJU is constantly doing.

NUJU Information Service