Journalist Valentyna Pestushko: “Kherson residents need support of the media”

Residents of Kherson, who are recovering from flooding due to the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, need support, including from the media.

“When we walked down the street with a camera and a microphone, almost at every step, residents invited us to their homes, asked us to film, and shared their troubles. Our support is very important to people who have lost their homes now,” Valentyna Pestushko, a Channel 5 journalist, shares her impressions after a business trip to Kherson.

She had worked in temporarily occupied Kherson before October. She decided to leave the city when it was extremely dangerous to stay in the occupation. Together with her husband, cameraman Vladyslav Radkovskyi, they found temporary shelter and work in Ivano-Frankivsk. They cooperate closely with the local Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC)of the NUJU.

They also talk about the situation in Kherson based on the results of their film crew’s business trips to the city. The first took place in February 2023. Then they shot stories about the consequences of the occupation in the city. Now Valentyna and Vlad are again in Kherson. This is already their second business trip, during which they are documenting the consequences of the destruction that the Kherson Region suffered due to the blasting of the Kakhovka HEPP by rioters.

Valentyna Pestushko told about some episodes of journalistic work in her homeland, about people in Kherson trying to save their houses and belongings after the departure of the “big water.”

She told her colleagues from Ivano-Frankivsk that the owners of houses in Kherson, who suffered from the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HEPP, are trying to save their things and restore their homes. Volunteers help people in this, but they say there are not enough hands.

“Chaikovskoho Lane in the Korabel city district was almost completely under water. Locals say: the water came very quickly. While escaping, they managed to take only the most necessary things. After the “great water” receded, the problems did not diminish. Now, people are analyzing the consequences of flooding, rescuing surviving things with tears in their eyes, and believe they will soon be able to return to their homes,” says Valentyna Pestushko.

Call the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC by dialing 066 677 0726 (Viktoriya Plakhta, the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC coordinator). The Center’s address is 25 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street.

ABOUT JSC

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.

ABOUT UNESCO

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.

Ivano-Frankivsk JSC