Journalists and the media in Ukraine have been in a state of emergency since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion on 24 February 2022.
Ukraine: war and harassment
Before the full-scale invasion, the Ukrainian media landscape was diverse, but the nationwide television channels were mostly owned by influential politicians and oligarchs who weaponised them in the political debate.
On 24 February, the same day the 2022 invasion began, the major television channels joined together to form a Telemarathon under the name United News which still broadcasts a standardised programme today.
All media outlets accused of spreading Russian propaganda or having ties to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s political rivals were shut down: the news website Strana has been blocked nationwide by a decision of the National Security and Defence Council since August 2021. The television channels Pryamiy and 5 Kanal, which were owned by ex-President Petro Poroshenko, have been banned from cable television, as has espreso.tv, which belongs to Mykola Leonidovych Kniazhytskyi, a former supporter of Poroshenko. In September 2022 Ukraine's wealthiest man, Rinat Akhmetov, was forced to hand over all his TV and print licences to the state and shut down his online media.
Critical voices unwelcome
In December 2022, a media law was passed that granted the president far-reaching powers. He can appoint four of the eight members on the National Council on Radio and Television Broadcasting, for example. The four other members are appointed by the parliament, in which the president’s party Servants of the People has a majority.
The council can impose fines and, if a corresponding court order has been issued, block registered online media that are deemed to have committed four serious offences within a month. If the outlet is not registered, after five offences it can be blocked for 14 days by the decision of the council even without a court order. Against this backdrop, Telegram, YouTube and Facebook have gained importance. A large proportion of the country’s population finds their diversity more attractive than the “Telemarathon” that is broadcast on all channels.
Lack of funds and harassment
But even before February 2022, the media in Ukraine were struggling. Shortly after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, many newsstands and newspaper sales points shut down for good.
Municipalities and regions were restructured as a result of territorial reforms, which posed a major challenge for many regional newspapers, whose target groups suddenly changed without their having any say in the matter. The reform of the Ukrainian postal service, Ukrposhta, which has a monopoly on the delivery of magazines, also had a negative impact on the print media. Not only was the fee for delivering magazines raised to 40 percent of the subscription price, but many of the post offices responsible for delivering magazines were closed.
The authorities have also taken action against media that the government doesn’t like on several occasions in recent years. In September 2019, the state television council revoked the broadcasting licence of the TV channel 112.ua. Igor Guzhva, the editor-in-chief of Strana, fled to Austria in January 2018 for fear of imprisonment and was granted political asylum in September of the same year.
Journalists in jeopardy
In 2000, the murder of Georgiy Gongadze, founder of the online newspaper Ukrayinska Pravda, made headlines far beyond the country's borders. After the Maidan protests in 2014, the pro-Russian journalist and former editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper Segodnya, Oles Buzina, was murdered in 2015. The Belarusian-born executive director of Ukrayinska Pravda, Pavel Sheremet, was also murdered in 2016. Most recently, the murder of investigative journalist Vadim Komarov sent shockwaves through the country and beyond. Komarov was assaulted on 4 May 2019 and died of his injuries six weeks later.
The daily newspaper segment has shrunk in recent years. The daily Den is the only quality newspaper with political coverage that has been able to maintain its position. In the weekly segment, NV has established itself as a leading analytical magazine and also has a very professional website.
World Press Freedom Index (Reporters Without Borders):
Rank 79 (2023)
Last updated: May 2023
