THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Four Zaporizhzhia soldier journalists and six media workers working in the frontline zone received charitable assistance from the regional organization of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU). The funds were earned during a youth charity fair in favor of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and colleagues who defend Ukraine with weapons in their hands.
On the eve of the fair, the former TV journalist and now a rifleman of the Svoboda battalion, which holds the front on the Donetsk Axis, Oleksandra Davydenko, visited the Journalists’ Solidarity Center (JSC) of the NUJU. She was on short-term leave. And she willingly talked with her colleagues and even managed to visit the fair. At the same time, she shared her dream of raising funds for a Mavic drone for her battalion.
So, based on the results of the fair, the secretariat of the Zaporizhzhia regional organization of the NUJU unanimously allocated funds for Oleksandra Davydenko. She responded immediately:
“Thank you very much to all colleagues! We have already raised funds for the Mavic. But our driver suffered from a stroke! Fortunately, he is alive. But the car needs to be repaired. This is a very urgent help.”
When asked how she was doing, Oleksandra noted:
“Everything is fine with me. I am studying, helping to bring large drones, bats, and others into battle. Not in positions yet. It is also dangerous here, but less so. In a week or two, I have to learn all the nuances and go into positions – drop provisions, mine, drop heavy ammunition… I will be in the top three until I fly. If I like it, I will go later to study for heavy, large drones, and for now, I will work as a navigator and operator of a large drone.”
Among those who received assistance from the fair funds is Ihor Huriev, a former photojournalist of the Zaporizhzhia portal Accent, a volunteer fighter of the 5th Assault Battalion of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Koshovyi Ivan Sirko. The inscription on the brigade’s flag, “Honor to oneself, glory to Ukraine!” has also become the personal motto of the young soldier-journalist. He fights with a weapon in his hands, but always keeps a camera nearby, filming the combat path of the brigade and his comrades. During a short telephone conversation, Ihor noted:
“The main thing in my life now is the road because the road for an infantryman is everything. And the risk, and the chance, and the opportunity to go to battle or return to his family. The road for the infantry is the path to victory. And I am sincerely grateful that you, my fellow journalists, support me on this journey.”
Ahead, as always, there is a lot of work, but I believe in your kind hearts and sharp minds. You are usually invisible, but you completely shape the consciousness of society. You are its eyes and its guards. I am proud of you!
Andrii Andriyenko is a well-known Ukrainian photojournalist who works with well-known foreign publications, has covered the events of the russian-Ukrainian war as a civilian journalist, from its very beginning, since 2014. And now, for the second year, he has been serving as a press officer in the 65th Mechanized Brigade Velykyi Luh, which is fighting on the Zaporizhzhia Axis. Hearing about the charitable support, I even fainted for a moment; they say I am being paid for my work in the war. But after a moment of reflection, he noted:
“These funds will go to gasoline for the car in which we transport journalists to prepare stories about soldiers, to photograph the faces of war. Of course, we are allocated fuel, but these are frontline roads, where you never know how many kilometers you will have to cover. So additional fuel is never superfluous. I sincerely thank my colleagues for their help!”
Former journalist-newspaperman, musician, and vocalist Taras Vasylenko also received charitable assistance. After being seriously wounded and exhaustingly leaving the encirclement, and then undergoing treatment and rehabilitation, he was transferred to one of the military units in Chernihiv, which is still conditionally a rear unit. The journalist is mastering a new direction of work. Now his weapons are more familiar – the printed word and working with people.
Having learned about the assistance from the regional journalistic organization, Taras, like his colleagues, expressed his intention to spend it not on himself personally, but on official matters.
“Of course, the funds that my colleagues gave me, having collected them at a charity journalism fair, are not at all superfluous. There are many things that need to be purchased for the service. We have already found a use for them. But the main thing that I want to say is that you cannot even imagine how warm my heart feels from the fact that you, my fellow journalists, remember us and support us. And I think about it all the time. So the words about journalistic solidarity have a special meaning for me. And this is one of the unique features of our profession, which saves and supports even in the most difficult times.”
The network of Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, implemented in collaboration with the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO, and with the support of the People of Japan. Our primary goal is to assist media professionals working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers are active in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk. The project is part of UNESCO’s broader efforts to support the Safety of Journalists and Freedom of Expression in Ukraine.
Contact of the Zaporizhzhia JSC at 096 277 5352 (Nataliya Kuzmenko and Valentyna Manzhura, the coordinators of the Zaporizhzhia JSC). The Center’s address is 15 Sobornyi Avenue.
Valentyna Manzhura
Discussion about this post