The death toll of journalists since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has reached 56, according to Lina Kush, the First Secretary of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
“56 journalists have died during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” Kush stated.
Kateryna Dyachuk, Head of the IMI Freedom of Speech Monitoring Department, added that since the invasion began, nine journalists lost their lives while performing their professional duties.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we’ve recorded nine cases of journalists being killed during the performance of their professional activities. The most recent case is Bohdan Bitik, who died in Kherson on April 26. During this time, 56 media workers have been killed,” Dyachuk said.
She also mentioned that in April, IMI recorded five cases of media representatives’ deaths who went to the frontlines to defend Ukraine. Note, I assume this means these were journalists engaged in combat roles on behalf of Ukraine.
As of May 1, Russia has committed 511 crimes against journalists and the media, with 14 known disappearances and 21 abductions of journalists.
Dyachuk reported that Dmytro Hylyuk is the only journalist currently in Russian captivity. Russia has refused to provide information on his whereabouts, but IMI has received information that Hylyuk is being held in a Russian colony.
Furthermore, Dyachuk highlighted that 67 cases of harassment, threats, and intimidation of journalists have been recorded. She revealed that editors from central and regional media outlets have faced threats of torture, imprisonment, and deportation to Siberia.
