3,5 years of the full-scale war: Russia commits 841 crimes against journalists and media in Ukraine

In the three years and six months since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 841 crimes against journalists and the media in Ukraine, as evidenced by the Monitoring Study of Russia’s Crimes Against Journalists and the Media, which the Institute of Mass Information has been carrying out since the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

IMI recorded one such case in July – August: a cyber attack on the Detector Media website.

The media outlet sustained one of the most intense DDoS attacks in their experience, which resulted in their website running with glitches. Detector Media chief editor Hala Sklyarevska believes they were being targeted by Russian actors due to the media outlet’s work debunking Russian propaganda. She said that they were targeted on a regular basis and that over the several years of the war, the media outlet had received various threats specifically for their work combating propaganda. The previous attack, she added, had occurred shortly after the release of their investigation into Telegram channels recruiting Ukrainian teenagers for arson attacks.

Read the full monitoring report here.

Russia’s crimes against journalists and the media in Ukraine

The Institute of Mass Information is a civil society organization specializing in the media, founded in 1996. IMI defends the rights of journalists, studies the media landscape and reports on media-related events, fights propaganda and disinformation, and provides media workers with safety equipment for trips to combat areas (since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014). IMI carries out the only monitoring study of freedom of speech in Ukraine, keeps a list of transparent and responsible online media outlets, and tracks Russia’s media crimes in the war on Ukraine. IMI has representatives in 20 oblasts of Ukraine and runs a network of Media Hubs that provide journalists with unfailing support. IMI’s partners include Reporters Without Borders (RSF); the organization is also a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX).