THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The leading Canadian newspaper, The Globe and Mail, dedicated the central topic of its January 30 issue to Ukrainian journalists who continue to publish the local newspaper Vorskla in the front-line village of Velyka Pysarivka. A special report from the border Sumy Region is featured on the front page, and inside the issue is a two-page story.
Every Friday, Oleksii and Nataliya Pasiuhas get into their Daewoo car, loaded with fresh copies, and set off on “the most dangerous newspaper route in the world.”
“We have to hurry; we usually start shelling at 12:30,” explains Oleksii, the editor-in-chief of Vorskla, as he delivers another copy. The fifth explosion rings out in the air that morning.
For hundreds of locals, Vorskla is the only source of news about their homeland. After the russians destroyed all the mobile towers, people have been without the internet for months.
“Without the newspaper, we wouldn’t know what was happening – we don’t have mobile communication, nothing,” says 64-year-old Viktor Yeshchenko, the owner of a small shop that still operates despite drone attacks.
The most dangerous stop is the house with the blue gate. Beyond that is the border with russia. But 62-year-old Valentyna Honcharenko still goes out to meet the mail carrier: “The weekly newspaper delivery is a ray of sunshine in my life.”
The 95-year-old Vorskla has been through a lot. Now, this local newspaper has a special mission – to be a reliable source of truth for its readers.
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) provided assistance to the journalistic team of the Canadian publication in working on an important topic about the work of the front-line press.
NUJU Information Service
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