Odesa's USI loses funding but decides to keep working

Photo: USI on Facebook

The funding for the Odesa news website USI (Ukrainian Information Service) has been suspended, but the outlet's team decided to continue its work, the USI editor-in-chief Tetyana Milimko reported in a comment to the Institute of Mass Information representative in Odesa oblast.

"We did not expect such a decision, even though we understand that the big war makes it impossible for us to plan or expect anything at all. Thank you for enduring these years. It was difficult, many things were done on enthusiasm alone. I believe that it is not the right time to shut down a mass media with a years-long history," said Milimko.

She also stressed that creating high-quality content in Ukrainian is crucial in view of the current information war. "We have to keep working, even unpaid. We have to maintain the Ukrainian agenda in our South, and do it well," added the editor-in-chief.

Despite the difficulties, the USI team already has plans for the future, including a rebrand, developing a new strategy, creating an updated news platform and developing their social media.

Tetyana Milimko stressed the importance of support and of finding new investments, while emphasizing their desire to remain an independent media in Ukraine's South.

She says that the website has received support from many journalists from various publications who were willing to share their work for free. "It's very touching," Milimko concluded.

As reported earlier, Odesa's Channel 7 temporarily shut down on September 1. According to the IMI's sources, these two media outlets are linked to the local businessman Adnan Kivan.