Devastating power outages and blackouts caused by attacks against energy infrastructure in Ukraine have endangered civilian lives and undermined the critical work of media professionals. Indeed, the media in Ukraine play an essential role in providing reliable and conflict-sensitive information to the public during the war.
In addition to the provision of personal protective equipment and support to safety trainings, legal assistance and psychological support last year, UNESCO has recently provided a first batch of 17 generators, which have been distributed by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), to six Journalists' Solidarity Centers and local media associations across nine regions of the country.
Some of the journalists supported by have talked to UNESCO and NUJU about their situation.
The FM Halychyna radio is the largest regional radio network in the country, covering 14 frequencies
It promotes Ukrainian songs, language, culture, history, and traditions. About 5 million people listen to FM Halychyna.
“Due to missile attacks on critical infrastructure facilities, all residents of our country faced emergency and scheduled power outages, FM Halychyna is no exception” says Yula Bielska, the program director of the radio.
Peremoha, a 91-year-old newspaper, is published in the small town of Krasnopillia, Sumy Region, near the Russian border
Every day, sometimes 5-7 times a day, the town is shelled. A significant portion of the town was destroyed. In such circumstances, the team, manages to keep the newspaper published and the website updated.
"Power outages seriously disrupt the work not of only television and radio, which must create and broadcast their programs, but also of media like us: newspapers and online media. There were days when electricity was only available two hours a day, and it was necessary to go to work at night to publish a newspaper.” says editor-in-chief Oleksandr Motsnyi.
Kharkiv-based media Visti News is a local website
that produces news for local television and Ukrainian Channel 24. Visti helps foreign media including Reuters, Deutsche Welle, Sky News Arabia and media production companies.
"Our office is not located in the city center, but on the way out of it, so colleagues who return to Kharkiv from remote areas can stop by and quickly upload and edit the material, or simply drink coffee and warm up” journalist and editor Anna Chernenko explains.
Ildana, a television and radio company in the Cherkasy region
It was founded in 1996 as an independent media production company. Ildana produces sociopolitical, culture-educational, documentary-journalistic content.
Valentyna Dushok, director of Ildana TV and Radio Company LLC also mentions that “There was already a case where, thanks to this device, we avoided the threat of not airing the news. The power was abruptly cut off and thank God for such an ‘insurance’! We activated the generator, and the news was broadcast on time. We are calmer, less nervous, and more confident that we have the generator. We invited all journalists in the Cherkasy region that need of a place to work during power outages."
Obrii Iziumshchyny newspaper
Following the liberation of the city of Izium, which had been under occupation from April to September, the publication of the Obrii Iziumshchyny newspaper and its online edition was resumed with the help of NUJU and international donors. Much of the editorial property was previously looted and the premises destroyed, forcing the team to rent a different location when they returned to the city after being evacuated.
"Izium’s situation remains extremely complicated. The authorities are doing everything they can to reduce power outages, but it is not always possible” says Kostiantyn Hryhorenko, the editor-in-chief.
With funding by the Multi Donor Programme (MDP), the Global Media Defence Fund (GMDF), the International Programme for the Development of Communication (IPDC), UNESCO continues to support the safety of Ukrainian and international journalists and media workers in Ukraine to allow them to provide factual, conflict-sensitive, and verified information to the population. This support will continue and be further upscaled in 2023, also thanks to a new 10 million USD project funded by Japan, which will benefit to all sectors of UNESCO.
