THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
On November 2, the International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists, Ukrainian journalists released an appeal to their colleagues from democratic countries around the world. They call on the international media community not to give in to war fatigue, to call things by their true names, and to prevent attempts to appease the aggressor.
“We want peace very much, but we do not want an imitation of it,” the journalists emphasize. In their conviction, this is a civilizational conflict that concerns both Europe and the United States, and the aggressor must be punished so that this does not happen again.
The main appeal to colleagues is not to remain silent. The authors stress that it is up to journalists whether politicians will allow sanctions against Russia to be lifted and whether they will let the aggressor build up its strength. “No one has the right to change the world order through force and occupation,” the appeal states.
The appeal was supported by the team of “Nakypilo” media, Yaroslav Zharenov, Stas Kukharchuk, the team of the Kharkiv Media Hub, Nataliia Nahorna, Ruslan Yarmoliuk, Kateryna Kobernyk, Mariia Malevska, Olena Frolyak, Yuliia Kyriienko, Tetiana Troshchynska, Nataliia Sokolenko, Yan Dobronosov, Dmytro Khyliuk, Ivan Liubysh-Kirdey, Andriy Tsapliienko, Oleksandr Motornyi, Marichka Padalko, the TSN team, Oleh Korniienko, Alla Mazur, Sevgil Musaieva, Diana Butsko, Zoriana Stelmakh, Andriy Dubchak, and others.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine is distributing the appeal among colleagues in the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ).
Full text of the appeal:
We, Ukrainian journalists, are reaching out to you — our fellow journalists across the free and democratic world.
We speak to you from a country where every morning begins with checking whether our families and friends are still alive. This appeal is a desperate attempt to warn you.
You may think the war in Ukraine has stopped or is about to end. But the war is still raging. Russia’s genocide and ecocide continue. Russian attacks occur every single day, as does the destruction and the deliberate hunting of civilians.
Perhaps your viewers and readers are no longer “interested” in watching us being killed live on air. Perhaps our deaths are no longer dramatic enough.
In your coverage, one can read that striking Russian oil refineries is supposedly “madness and a disgrace.” But is killing people with ballistic missiles not a disgrace?! And is destroying bridges, schools, and hospitals not madness?!
It is painful to see headlines claiming that, in the thirteenth year of Russia’s aggression against our country and our people, Ukraine allegedly “does not want peace.” This is a twisted form of abuse: blaming the victim of aggression for refusing to remain a victim and daring to fight back.
We must all understand that Russia, the aggressor, is honing its ability to kill and destroy every single day. World leaders are afraid to admit publicly that a much wider war is becoming inevitable—and it is closer than ever. This is a conflict between civilizations, and it concerns the United States just as much as it concerns Europe.
We firmly believe it is dangerous to treat Ukraine as a distant place where a war is happening that has nothing to do with the rest of the world.
We desperately want peace. But we do not want a fake peace. To ensure that this aggression—or any other—never happens again, the aggressor must be held accountable. Let’s be honest: Putin is a modern-day Hitler. We must not repeat the mistakes of history, as trying to appease an aggressor is dangerous for the entire world.
We urge you not to remain silent. The courage of politicians depends on journalists. It is up to journalists to prevent politicians from lifting sanctions, from allowing the aggressor to rebuild its strength, and from giving it the opportunity to keep killing people, destroying countries, and devastating the world.
Fellow journalists, do everything in your power to prevent your countries from siding with evil. No one has the right to reshape the international order through force and occupation.
We believe in the power of words, in justice, and in your integrity.
May common sense save the world we share.
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