Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Justin Trudeau address journalists

In a joint video message, the President of Ukraine and the Prime Minister of Canada emphasized the importance of journalists’ work and the fact that now it is a difficult time for the media and democracies.

“Now the media is under pressure, and democracy is in decline. Journalists are persecuted, censored, threatened, and even killed. Leaders belittle your work. And people decreasingly trust our democracies and institutions. The fourth branch of government is one of our most important democratic institutions,” Prime Ministry Trudeau said.

President Zelenskyy thanked journalists for telling people the truth about the real war for democracy.

“This happens – particularly often with journalists – when life presents a person with a choice whether or not to become a hero. It is much easier to omit such a choice and stay somewhere in the gray zone between good and evil – in the zone of pseudo-neutrality. But anyone who accepts it and resists evil, who calls things by their names and spreads the truth, can become a hero not only for one day,” said the President of Ukraine.