THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
An employee of the online media TheBuchacity from the town of Bucha plans to create an informational project dedicated to the military and volunteers.
Viktoriya Shatylo began her professional activity in journalism in the newsroom of the town newspaper Buchanski Novyny. Later, she changed her job, and at the time of russian troops’ full-scale invasion of the territory of Ukraine, she worked as an administrator of an English language school for children. In 2023, she returned to her profession, and now she is a journalist in Bucha‘s popular media, TheBuchacity.
“I didn’t want to go anywhere because I thought it would all be over in a few days”
– February 24, 2022, became the most terrible day for all of us – residents of Bucha. That day, my family woke up at dawn to loud explosions. Near us is the Hostomel Airport, and right from the window of the house, we could see how the first helicopters flew and bombed. I have two children. At that time, the eldest son was nine, and the youngest was four years old. Like other townspeople, we were not prepared for such a situation: we had neither collected things nor a set of products. We were in a panic. We spent the whole day in the basement of our garage, not far from the house. In the evening, we moved by our own transport to the private sector of Bucha to her husband’s parents, says Viktoriya.
We lived with relatives for two weeks. When the explosions were very loud, the journalist recalls, everyone immediately went down to the basement. It was terrible. There was no information. It was very difficult to find something out as no one went out anywhere. When the first evacuation corridor was announced, Viktoriya and her family tried to leave. But it didn’t work the first time; they were afraid. There was no exact information about where it was safe to go in which direction it was better to leave. Later, they left for relatives in Bila Tserkva.
– After the heavy fighting on the main Vokzalna Street ended when our troops defeated a column of russian vehicles, everything quieted down in Bucha. But not for long. We hardly left the yard. Shots from machine guns and explosions were heard… Later, we found out that it was the occupiers who shot residents because they did not like something or simply because a person went outside. When they were leaving, they saw that many houses were destroyed, and the bodies of the dead people were lying on the streets,” remembers Viktoriya Shatylo.
According to the media outlet, in mid-April, when it became known that Bucha was freed from the occupiers and the main communications were restored in the city, her family returned to their native home. Fortunately, the house survived. The occupiers did not even enter it. In many other new buildings traces of the enemy were visible: open doors, disorder, traces of robbers. Volunteers started coming to the liberated territory with help. Gradually, grocery stores and pharmacies resumed working in Bucha.
“I wanted to be something useful for my native Bucha, as well as for our defenders who are at the front.”
Viktoriya herself started volunteering. She decided that she would not go anywhere because she had to rebuild her life in her native Bucha.
– My neighbor organized a volunteer community, which I joined. I wanted to be useful. We met at the local school and made nets. The first nets were made from dusters. Other residents gradually joined. There was more work. They went to work every day. Everyone understood the importance and necessity of what we do, says Viktoriya.
Later, the volunteer community grew into the Bucha Spiders [Buchanski Pavuchky] organization, which still makes camouflage nets and kikimoras and sews the necessary things for the military.
According to the journalist, later, the largest public – TheBuchacity – started to work in Bucha. Its founder and director, as well as volunteer Oleksandr Ostapa, invited her to join the editorial team. Viktoriya says that she willingly agreed because she loves her profession. She also said that she plans to create her own informational project on TheBuchacity, dedicated to the military and volunteers who defended Bucha and those killed for Bucha. These will be stories about these people. It is very important to remember our heroes, – the journalist emphasizes, – about their courage and bravery, self-sacrifice.
As Viktoriya says, it is thanks to TheBuchacity that residents of the town can constantly, through social networks, receive information about what is happening in Bucha and the region, conduct correspondence in chats about this or that situation, get advice or any necessary information.
“After returning to the town, I look at everything differently”
– I will not say that I could avoid panic and tears. There was panic and tears. Why? Because I was not ready for this at all. And now, I perceive it in a completely different way. It’s not so scary anymore. Life has shown that it is necessary to be more internally strong, determined, and prepared.
Viktoriya admits that after returning to her hometown, she was helped by meetings at psychological assistance centers, of which there are many in Bucha. Also, it is noteworthy that there was a good attitude of people to each other and help from other regions.
– This supports everything and does not let you fall into despair. In particular, during the all-Ukrainian journalistic tour in the Ivano-Frankivsk Region, – continues Viktoriya – I saw how much they support us, care about our problems, and help. The Carpathians are a reliable rear. Therefore, we cannot give up and panic. We must act together! Each of us must do something to bring Victory closer! This is the only way Ukraine can win this war faster!
Call the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC at 066 677 0726 (Viktoriya Plakhta, the Ivano-Frankivsk JSC coordinator). The Center’s address is 25 Sichovykh Striltsiv Street.
ABOUT JSC
The Journalists’ Solidarity Centers is an initiative of the NUJU implemented with the support of the International and European Federations of Journalists and UNESCO. The initiative is designated to help media representatives working in Ukraine during the war. The Centers operate in Kyiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro and provide journalists with organizational, technical, legal, psychological, and other types of assistance.
ABOUT UNESCO
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. It contributes to peace and security by promoting international cooperation in education, sciences, culture, communication, and information. UNESCO promotes knowledge sharing and the free flow of ideas to accelerate mutual understanding. It is the coordinator of the UN Action Plan on the Safety of Journalists and the Issue of Impunity, which aims to create a free and safe environment for journalists and media workers, thus strengthening peace, democracy, and sustainable development worldwide. UNESCO is working closely with its partner organizations in Ukraine to provide support to journalists on the ground.
The designations employed and the presentation of material throughout this digest do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UNESCO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city, or area or its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts contained in this digest and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO and do not commit to the organization.
Dana Danyliv
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