NUJU leaders Sergiy Tomilenko and Lina Kushch visited Warsaw

“Polish are at the forefront of supporting Ukrainians!” says the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Sergiy Tomilenko, who together with Union’s First Secretary Lina Kushch visited Warsaw on March 24 and met with the President of the Polish Association of Journalists Krzysztof Skowronski and Vice-president Jolanta Gaydash.

The meeting was also attended by the correspondent of Radio Wnet in Ukraine, a member of the Polish Association of Journalists, Pavel Bobolovich.

From the first days of the full-scale invasion, the Association provided shelter to Ukrainian journalists in recreation center in its Kazimierz Dolny, and sends humanitarian aid to Ukraine. And what is important, the Association pays maximum attention to the fight against Russian propaganda and the boycott and punishment of Putin’s propagandists.

There was a lengthy conversation with the management of the leading Polish Gazeta Wyborza and its Foundation, through which dozens of Ukrainian medias receive regular assistance – economic and technical. This assistance goes through the Ukrainian Media Fund, an effective initiative of Scandinavian media professionals. Experienced Polish journalists were particularly interested in the topic of reviving local newspapers on the occupied and frontline territories with the support of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.

“Colleagues are fascinated by the dedicated work of our hero-journalists from Kherson, Bakhmut, Izyum, Liman… Print media on the territories destroyed by the occupiers are effective and the only sources of reliable information,” emphasizes Sergiy Tomilenko.

The head of the NUJU says he was especially pleased to meet with Agnieszka Romaszewska, director of Belsat TV channel.

“We have known each other for over 10 years, I admire her dedication to the development of independent Belarusian broadcasting. Ms. Agnieszka, Oleksiy Dikavitsky, and the large professional Belsat team create a TV channel every day that is effective in conveying the truth and fighting against Russian propaganda not only for Belarusians but also for millions of Russians”.

In a live broadcast on Belsat, Sergiy Tomilenko talked about the work of Ukrainian journalists during the war and about the call of the NUJU, supported by the European Federation of Journalists, to organize of a tribunal against Russia for crimes against journalists and for inciting war.

The key theme of the meetings in Warsaw was the call for the democratic world to adopt systemic solutions for the economic stability of Ukrainian media. Because media stability is the realization of the right of Ukrainians to access important and verified information, which in times of war can even save lives.

Earlier Sergiy Tomilenko and Lina Kushch visited Norway as special guests and took part in the national congress of the Norwegian Union of Journalists, held talks on expanding cooperation with the leadership of the Union, as well as the Norwegian Commission on Journalistic Ethics, scientists from the University of Oslo and heads of Norwegian media companies, including the director general of the Norwegian Media Business Association (MBL) Randi Øgrey, and prominent representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway. The overarching theme of the meetings of the Ukrainian delegation in Norway was a call for systemic decisions on economic support for independent Ukrainian media and ensuring Ukrainians’ access to operational, truthful, and complete information.