“Journalists Have Become Part of Critical Infrastructure”: Crimes by the Russian Federation Against the Media Discussed in Kharkiv

In Kharkiv, an on-site meeting of the Temporary Investigative Committee of the Verkhovna Rada was held, which is investigating the crimes of the Russian army against journalists and other media workers. Participants discussed the dangers of working in a front-line region, damage to editorial offices, and problems with preserving media archives.

This was reported by the head of the TIK Yevheniya Kravchuk.

According to Kravchuk, journalists in front-line areas are forced to constantly take into account the threat of drone strikes and secondary hits. She emphasized that media professionals have effectively become part of critical infrastructure.

Representatives of local editors spoke about safety, energy supply, staffing, insurance, and psychological support. According to the head of the supervisory board of Suspline (Suspline is likely SUSPILNE) of Public Broadcasting, Svitlana Ostapa, many Kharkiv journalists work in basements due to the ongoing danger.

Separately, participants drew attention to a change in the tactics of Russian attacks. According to Ostapa, in addition to secondary strikes, Russian forces are using triple attacks with different types of drones, and FPV drones are increasingly reaching Kharkiv.

The meeting was attended by members of parliament, representatives of law enforcement agencies, local media, the Institute of Mass Information, and Public Broadcasting. They discussed documenting crimes against journalists and media infrastructure, as well as supporting front-line editorial offices.

Simultaneously in Kharkiv, an on-site meeting of the Parliament Committee on humanitarian and information policy took place. One of the key issues was state support for publishing and distributing books in the conditions of Russian aggression.

We reported: the head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Serhiy Tomilenko, met with representatives of the media community of Ivano-Frankivsk region. During the conversation, they discussed journalist safety, economic problems of editorial offices, and the need to support regional media in wartime.