​​”The only way to communicate information to the residents of Bahmut was through a newspaper,” says Svitlana Ovcharenko, the chief editor.

– When the explosions woke us up on the morning of February 24, 2022, we weren’t initially alarmed because we’ve been living on the front lines and had become accustomed to such sounds since 2014. The realization of something dreadful happening only dawned on us when our friends and relatives from Dnipro, Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, and Sumy started calling, describing the same situation in their cities. – says Svitlana Ovcharenko, the chief editor of the ‘Vpered’ newspaper, which is published in the front-line city of Bahmut in Donetsk Oblast.

The last issue of ‘Vpered’ came out on the eve of February 23. The next issue never saw the light of day because the road connecting Kramatorsk (where the printing press is located) to Bahmut came under shelling.

Soon after, Bahmut became dangerous, with windows shattering in apartments. In early April, Svitlana left the city. Now, with no electricity, internet, or television in Bahmut, its residents are in complete information isolation.

Svitlana Ovcharenko decided to provide her fellow citizens with accurate information. The only way to do this was to resurrect the ‘Vpered’ newspaper.

Watch the video to learn more about how she accomplished this.

This series, titled Executed Free Speech, is created as part of a project Drawing Ukrainian And International Audience’s Attention To Serious Violations Of Human Rights And Crimes Against Journalists And Mass Media By The Russian Federation,  which is performed by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, with support from the Swedish non-profit organization Civil Rights Defenders.

JOURNALISTS ARE IMPORTANT. Stories of Life and Work in Conditions of War is a cycle of materials prepared by the team of the NUJU with the support of the Swedish human rights organization Civil Rights Defenders.

#CRD