Since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 116 journalists have been killed and 26 are in captivity, announced the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine on Monday, November 3.
From the onset of the war in Ukraine, Russian forces have killed and captured journalists, violating international humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians in times of war.
The total number of 116 killed journalists also includes those who enlisted in the army after the war began. Eighteen journalists lost their lives while performing their professional duties, according to the Ministry of Culture, writes kyivindependent.
The National Committee of Ukraine for Cooperation with UNESCO has condemned the illegal detentions, torture, and killing of journalists, as well as disinformation campaigns, harassment, and gender violence in cyberspace, such as online harassment, cyberbullying, and data security breaches targeting Ukrainian journalists.
The Committee has appealed to the international community to pay attention to “Russia’s systemic crimes against Ukrainian media workers.”
Ukraine has called for an end to the persecution of journalists, the release of all imprisoned media workers, and the creation of an international mechanism to hold perpetrators accountable, while at the same time condemning attempts to “legitimize state propaganda as journalism”.
A recent drone attack by Russia killed Freedom TV journalist Olena Hramova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin on October 23 in the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region.
According to the cited source, Russia has committed 848 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine in the three and a half years of large-scale invasion, reported the Institute of Mass Information on October 7.