NUJU awards Certificate of Honor to Voice of America journalist Kateryna Lisunova

On the occasion of Journalists’ Day, the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) has awarded the Certificate of Honor to the former correspondent of the Voice of America Kateryna Lisunova.

This recognition was the result of the journalist’s many years of work, which set new standards for Ukrainian journalism in the international arena. Kateryna Lisunova is the first Ukrainian journalist to receive the status of a resident at the United Nations with her own office at the headquarters in New York.

In 2017, Kateryna became one of the first Ukrainian journalists to receive membership in the UN Correspondents’ Association. From 2017 to September 2021, she worked as a correspondent for the Priamyi TV channel at the United Nations headquarters in New York, while also freelancing with BBC News Ukraine.

While working at the UN, Kateryna created a documentary titled “Ukraine and the UN: Two Years in the Security Council,” which captured an important period in Ukrainian diplomacy. In September 2021, she joined the Ukrainian Service of the Voice of America as a correspondent in the U.S. Congress, where she continued to cover U.S.-Ukrainian relations.

Yesterday, June 5, Kateryna officially returned her badge to the Voice of America, a publication that, in accordance with the decision of the Donald Trump administration, ceased broadcasting.

Kateryna Lisunova‘s professional achievements have received international recognition. In 2020, her materials were included in the archives of the Harvard Library (Americas, Europe, and Oceania Division), which attest to their historical value. Some of the journalist’s works are presented in the exhibitions of the National Museum of the History of Ukraine in World War II.

Recently, the journalist has received a special invitation to join PEN America. This influential organization defends freedom of speech in literature and journalism. She also became an ambassador for the international women’s initiative, The Women’s Voice in Action, based in Washington.

Kateryna Lisunova has repeatedly found herself at the epicenter of important historical events. On January 6, 2021, she covered the storming of the U.S. Capitol live, providing the Ukrainian audience with direct access to information about this turning point in American politics.

With the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, her reports regularly became sources of breaking news. Among her author’s projects are the stories of fallen American volunteers, a series about Ukrainian pilots Andrii Pilshchykov (“Juice”) and Oleksii Mes (“Munfish”), as well as a series about chaplains of the U.S. Congress who pray for Ukraine every week.

Kateryna Lisunova was born in Kyiv on June 22, 1990. Between 2007 and 2011, she studied at the Drahomanov National Pedagogical University, Faculty of Foreign Philology. She speaks Ukrainian, English, Spanish, russian, and Hebrew.

Her career path began with editorial work in the Spanish and English versions of the Jewish News One TV channel (2011-2015); later, she worked as an international news editor and TV presenter on NewsOne (2015-2017). In parallel, she worked on Hit FM radio as an announcer and editor of morning news.

In addition to her journalistic work, Kateryna is actively involved in educational activities, giving lectures to students and teachers at Ukrainian and American universities. She is the only journalist from Ukraine who has systematically worked in the U.S. Congress, focusing on the topics of russian aggression, security, democracy, and disinformation.

In its decision on the award, the NUJU emphasized that Kateryna Lisunova‘s career “is built on the values ​​of freedom of speech and truth” and has had a “lasting impact on international processes.”

NUJU Information Service