The office of the newspaper Nashe Zhyttia, based in Novomykolayivka village (Zaporizhzhia oblast), was effectively destroyed and is now unusable as a result of the guided bomb strike by Russian forces on Sunday, 22 February, chief editor Kateryna Zavarzina reported to Natalia Vyhovska, the regional Institute of Mass Information representative.
All windows and doors in the newspaper’s office were broken. Photos shared with IMI by Kateryna Zavarzina
Zavarzina said that the office, which was located in the village council building, had effectively been destroyed and the team was now looking for a temporary space to work and store equipment and the archive.
“This [air strike] happened yesterday, on Sunday, at 10:15. So, thank God, the team was unharmed. The office itself was badly damaged: the windows, the doors are gone. The walls and furniture are also damaged, everything is battered by glass shards. There was no fire, the editorial equipment survived,” said Kateryna Zavarzina.
The newspaper office damaged in the Russian guided bomb strike. Photos shared with IMI by Kateryna Zavarzina
Exterior view of the building where Nashe Zhyttia office was formerly located. Photos shared with IMI by Kateryna Zavarzina
She added that she was considering relocating the newspaper to Zaporizhzhia city, but the decision was difficult.
The Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration reported on Telegram that Russian occupiers had carried out 754 strikes on 44 municipalities in Zaporizhzhia oblast over the past 24 hours; in particular, Novomykolayivka was targeted with aerial bombs and UAVs. Two people were killed and four more were injured.
In January, the Kyiv offices of three media entities were damaged as a result of Russian air strikes at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure: Television Toronto, Realna Hazeta (formerly based in Luhansk), and the Institute of Mass Information.
In the three years and 11 months since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia committed 872 crimes against journalists and the media in Ukraine