RFE/RL journalists Yesypenko and Dubchak receive Free Media Award

Two RFE/RL writers have received the 2022 Free Media Award for their coverage of russia's full-scale aggression. This was announced on August 19 by the Norwegian Fritt Ord Foundation, which presents the award together with the German charity foundation Zeit-Stiftung, RFE/RL reports.

"This year, all five Free Media Awards are dedicated to Ukrainian photographers, journalists, and media in recognition of their efforts in documenting the suffering and the challenges faced by the Ukrainian people due to the destruction and war crimes committed by the russian military," the organizers' statement says.

Donbas Frontliner founder and RFE/RL author Andriy Dubchak received the award for "courageous and professional coverage of events in combat areas, often at the risk of life."

"In February 2022, Andriy Dubchak continued his tireless work as a military correspondent in Kyiv and its suburbs, documenting the scale of the humanitarian disaster. Dubchak was nominated by Ukrainian journalist Stanislav Aseyev," Fritt Ord reports.

Freelance journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, who is currently imprisoned in occupied Crimea, was awarded for his "crucially important journalistic work in extremely difficult conditions."

"He was reporting on property confiscations, the lives of Crimean Tatars, environmental crises and destruction caused by the russian occupation of Crimea for RFE/RL before he was captured by the russian Federal Security Service in March 2021 in Simferopol," the organization notes.

Yesypenko was nominated by the Human Rights House foundation.

Other awardees include: photographers Mstyslav Chernov and Yevhen Maloletka, who documented the blockade and bombing of Mariupol, journalist Natalya Humenyuk, and Zaborona media outlet.

Last year, the Free Media Awards for 2020 were given to journalists from the investigation project "Skhemy" (RFE/RL), as well as to RFE/RL author Stanislav Aseyev.