“The glass is all over, Shaheds are buzzing overhead while we are making a newspaper” Promin newsroom, Chernihiv Region

“Our publication works in a combat zone. A straight 20-kilometer line separates us from Snovsk and the border with the russian federation. Drones fly in, artillery hits, missiles, and everything else flies,” Olena Kompanets, the editor-in-chief of the Promin newspaper from Snovsk in the Chernihiv Region, tells the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).

A month ago, the newsroom suffered from devastating shelling by the russian army in the city. A powerful drone explosion blew out the door with all the utensils and windows in the building. Miraculously, the editorial staff, who were at work at the time, were not injured.

According to Olena Kompanets, the city council immediately came to the aid of the newspaper workers. Employees of the economic group helped to hang the door, because there was a danger that the heating system would fail. However, this was a temporary solution.

For several weeks, the newspaper staff had to work on drafts, because the cracks after the explosion were left with a palm, and the broken windows, covered with film, did not protect against frost. And just the other day, new doors were installed in the newsroom of Promin – they were helped out with financial support by colleagues from Ivano-Frankivsk Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC), notes Olena Kompanets, for which she is infinitely grateful.

After the attack on the newsroom, the staff continued to work, having already published three issues of the newspaper. The first one after the shelling will be remembered for a long time, recalls the editor:

“Then we all experienced psycho-emotional stress, so we took the day off. So, imagine the atmosphere: everything is in glass, the shaheeds are buzzing overhead, and we are making a newspaper.

According to Olena Kompanets, media workers are in dire need of a safe space now — the newsroom is in a high-risk zone, as it is located in the building of the former freight office of the railway depot, and the railway, as is known, is at the top of russian attacks. The team of Promin works amidst the constant tension of waiting for new strikes and power outages. The community is constantly under fire.

“Unfortunately, no one in the city has offered us a place to live, even a small room would be enough,” sighs Olena Kompanets. “We have a power bank, but it only lasts for an hour. We need a charging station in case of a power outage. We dream of new windows….”

Promin is the oldest periodical in the Chernihiv Region; the newspaper is preparing to celebrate its 109^th anniversary. It is published weekly with a circulation of 1,060 copies. The newspaper focuses on news, the security situation in the community, and stories about people. The editorial team greatly appreciates each reader and considers it its duty to be a support for the audience during the war.

Viktoriya Maliovana

NUJU Information Service

Photos provided by the Promin newsroom