Ukraine Demands Release of 26 Journalists Held Captive by Russia

According to information provided by Ukraine, 26 Ukrainian journalists are currently in Russian captivity.

Journalists do a very important job

The parliament of Ukraine has authorized international organizations and foreign parliaments to implement international and national opportunities to put pressure on and release journalists illegally detained there the captivity of Russia.

“This is a resolution about Vlad Yesipenko – a journalist of “Radio Brivība”, “Crimea Reality”, who was imprisoned by the Putin regime for the third year. This is a law about Irina Danilovich, who dies in prison at the moment, because she does not receive medical help. Kyiv region.

This resolution was supported by the majority of deputies of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine – 293 servants in total.

“Journalists do a very important job – they speak the truth and shed light, including the crimes of the invading Russia, so Russia sees it as risk

The purpose of this mission is to implement the efforts of the community and international organizations, as well as the efforts of the governments of various countries to recover journalists and, in general, all people who are detained -legal who is currently in Russian captivity,” emphasizes MP. Oleksandrs Merezhko from the ruling party “Servant of the People”.

Journalists and public activists have been imprisoned since the first phase of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2014. In Ukraine, there has been good experience when they manage to release someone released, despite great international pressure on Russia.

For example, it happened with the director Oleg Sentsova, who managed to be released in 2019 after the involvement of many international organizations. After the full-scale attack began, Sentsov joined the Ukrainian armed forces and is currently fighting.

Russia targets journalists

With this resolution, the Ukrainian parliament once again appeals to all the main international organizations, praises the UN, and wants to put pressure on them in the efforts of the journalists who to release the captive from captivity. So far, no media workers have been released as part of any prisoner exchange.

To date, 49 prisoner exchanges have taken place between Russia and Ukraine, resulting in the return of nearly 3,000 people to Ukraine. Most of them are soldiers, and 147 are civilians.

According to Ukrainian officials, at least 8,000 people are currently in captivity, including 1,600 civilians. Russia violates the rules of international law by detaining not only soldiers, but also civilians, including journalists.

Also, Russia goes against any international norms by shooting and especially targeting media workers.

According to the National Union of Journalists, 86 media workers have been killed in Ukraine since the full-scale attack began. These are journalists, TV operators, photographers, editors and others. Of these, 61 were those who entered the ranks of the armed forces of Ukraine and fell in the battles for a free Ukraine.

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