Petras Auštrevičius, Member of European Parliament from Lithuania, has greed to become a mentor to Yana Suvorova, a Ukrainian media worker sentenced by Russia to 14 years in prison, MP Yevhenia Kravchuk reported in a Facebook post.
“[Yana Suvorova] had the courage to speak the truth, running the Telegram channel Melitopol Is Ukraine,” Yevhenia Kravchuk said.
The MP stressed that the Russian court had convicted the media worker on false charges.
“This is not the first such experience for Petras. He previously mentored Dmytro Khyliuk, who was able to return home on Independence Day. This week, Dmytro spoke to the members of the European Parliament and shared his story; a very powerful, emotional testimony,” said Yevhenia Kravchuk.
She hopes that the temporary parliamentary commission to investigate the Russian troops’ crimes against journalists and other employees of media entities will soon officially begin its work.
“I will also work within the framework of the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on crimes against journalists, which, I hope, will be officially launched soon. I will also make every effort to ensure that every imprisoned Ukrainian journalist in captivity gets a mentor among European politicians: a person who will keep their name in the public consciousness, advocate for and support them. We must get everyone back,” Yevhenia Kravchuk stressed.
As reported earlier, Yevhenia Kravhcuk submitted draft bill No. 14198 to the Verkhovna Rada on 7 November 2025, proposing to create a temporary commission to investigate crimes against journalists and other employees of media entities committed by Russian armed formations.
On 5 November 2025, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine passed a resolution approving an address to the UN, EU, and NATO institutions, parliamentary assemblies and leading international journalistic organisations calling for increased political and diplomatic pressure, and sanctions on Russia due to its systematic crimes against journalists and media workers.
Who is Yana Suvorova
Yana Suvorova was detained along with other channel administrators for RIA Melitopol and Melitopol Is Ukraine in August 2023. Back then, the Russian forces hacked the Telegram channel of the Ukrainian news outlet RIA Melitopol, which continuted to operate even after the occupation of Melitopol (Zaporizhzhia oblast).
On 23 October 2025, the Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don (Russia) sentenced her to 14 years in a low security prison.
