“Revival of front-line local newspapers is extremely important,” say German diplomats during a meeting with Sergiy Tomilenko

The initiative to revive Ukrainian journalism, especially in the front-line and de-occupied territories, is extremely important. This was emphasized by the head of the Office of Ukraine, Moldova and the Black Sea Cooperation of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany, Thomas Lenk, during a meeting with the President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), Sergiy Tomilenko.

The meeting in Berlin was attended by German diplomats responsible for Germany’s policy towards Ukraine and foreign support for journalists working in war zones. Sergiy Tomilenko informed the interlocutors about the work of the Ukrainian media sphere during the war. The participants of the conversation discussed the activity of the network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers (JSC) of the NUJU, which, thanks to international support, has been providing the necessary material, organizational, psychological, and legal assistance to thousands of Ukrainian media workers for a long time. The issue of the economic sustainability of Ukrainian media and support for freedom of speech in Ukraine was also discussed.

– By providing special support to Ukrainian journalists and media today, during the war, we hope that in the future, the media sector of Ukraine will be independent and stable and will correspond to the values of freedom of speech, which are important for the European Union, – emphasized Matthias Kiesler, head of the Federal Foreign Office responsible for international media policy, Deutsche Welle and the Hannah Arendt Initiative. This initiative, named after the famous political scientist-researcher of totalitarianism Hannah Arendt (1906-1975), was created in 2022 to support medical workers whose lives were at risk in Ukraine, Afghanistan, and other countries.

German diplomats expressed their admiration for the courage of Ukrainian journalists, especially in the front-line and de-occupied territories, and their dedication to the profession. In response, the President of the NUJU presented them with copies of the Vpered newspaper (Bakhmut), Novyi Den newspaper (Kherson), and other front-line publications, as well as the report titled Executed Free Speech containing russia’s crimes against Ukrainian journalists and all media workers and substantiating the importance of creating international tribunal to punish the Putin regime’s crimes against freedom of speech and journalists.

– Ukrainian journalists are grateful for the partnership and support provided to us by the German government during the war: this includes protective equipment, scholarships for journalists, journalistic equipment, and various asylum programs abroad, – said Sergiy Tomilenko. – Most of these activities are implemented through the authoritative European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF), whose partner is the NUJU. Unfortunately, the war continues and, apparently, will continue for some time. Therefore, we expect that in the coming year, Germany will also provide Ukrainian journalists with the important support that we need. After all, it is international solidarity that enables sustainable informational resistance to the occupiers.

NUJU Information Service