NUJU’s Donetsk organization resumes its operation

The first meeting of the governing body of the Donetsk regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) since the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion of Ukraine was held in Kyiv. At the meeting of the board, the current state and prospects of the media sphere in the region were discussed, and a new composition of the secretariat was elected.

Prior to this, all working issues, including those related to assistance to relocated journalists in the region, were resolved in a working order. The necessary decisions were made directly by the head of the organization, Olena Kalaitan.

Currently, the Donetsk regional organization of journalists has been re-registered in Kyiv because, after the evacuation from Donetsk in 2014, its office was in Mariupol until 2022. Today, the headquarters of Donetsk journalists is in the NUJU building at 27A Khreshchatyk Street.

“Now, with the assistance of the President of the Union, Sergiy Tomilenko, and the First Secretary of the NUJU, Lina Kushch, we can finally move on to the next stage of resuming our full-fledged work – renewing the composition of the secretariat, which is the executive body of our organization, and planning and implementing measures to support our colleagues, whom the war has scattered not only across Ukraine but all over the world,” says Olena Kalaitan.

It is worth noting that all contact has been lost with some members of the governing bodies – the board and the secretariat. Some have left the country, but, unfortunately, there are those who are currently actively working in the occupation media. It is exactly in order for the work of the organization not to be paralyzed that the composition of the secretariat has been renewed. It now includes the head of the organization, Olena Kalaitan; deputy head, Oleksandr Kulbaka; head of the Telewizja Polska S.A. office in Ukraine, Illia Suzdaliev; the editor-in-chief of the Ridne Misto newspaper from Myrnohrad, Maksym Zabielia; and a journalist for the online publication Svoyi.City, Kateryna Kalyuzhna.

“In 2022, due to the capture of Mariupol and the further development of events, the Donetsk journalists organization lost its ability to function fully and objectively and could not work as before. But the time has come to restore this ability. I am very glad that even in a hybrid format, we managed to gather a quorum for the board, update the management team, and outline the first steps for further work,” says Lina Kushch.

Among such first steps is the creation of pages of the Donetsk regional organization of journalists on social networks so that media workers could quickly contact and receive the necessary information. Also, during the board meeting, possible formats of support for newsrooms and individual journalists from state and international organizations were discussed.

And one more important thing. Three collaborators were expelled from the NUJU. The decision was made by the secretariat of the Donetsk organization at the April meeting. Three media workers from Mariupol have been expelled from the organization, as they, according to verified information, are currently actively cooperating with the occupation authorities. These are Viktoria Tereshchenko, Andriy Kior and Viktor Gramatikov.

“These people did not just stay in Mariupol. They began to actively work in the media created by the occupiers, and Viktoria Tereshchenko even headed a local TV channel. By such actions, they violated the Charter of our organization, and the assessment of this is expulsion from the NUJU. We know that law enforcement officers also provided them with their assessment, initiating relevant criminal proceedings against these individuals,” said Olena Kalaitan, the head of the Donetsk Regional Union of Journalists. The organization’s secretariat will continue monitoring the relevant information. In the event of receiving verified data on the violation of the Charter by other NUJU members (in particular, work in occupation structures), the issue of their expulsion from the Union will also be considered.

NUJU Information Service