At UN, Ukraine highlighted the systemic persecution of journalists in Russian-occupied territories
Dmytro Tymoshenko, a representative of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the UN, during a meeting of the UN Committee on Information on April 27, 2026, said that Russia has deployed a large-scale campaign of disinformation, censorship, and persecution of journalists in the occupied territories of Ukraine, and is also attempting to blur the line between journalism and war propaganda, justifying the war of aggression.
Dmytro Tymoshenko. Photo credit: News agency UkrinformUkraine’s representative once again reiterated that Russia accompanies its war against Ukraine with a campaign of disinformation, censorship, and violence against journalists and media workers.
Regarding persecution in the occupied territories, Tymoshenko listed several individuals imprisoned by the Russians, specifically journalists from occupied Melitopol:
- Yana Suvorova;
- Heorhii Levchenko;
- Vladyslav Hershon;
- Oleksandr Malyshev;
- Yevhen Ilchenko;
- Maksym Rupchov;
- Anastasiia Hlukhovska;
- Iryna Levchenko.
Some of them were kidnapped in August 2023 after reporting on events under occupation.
He also named journalist and editor Hennadii Osmak, who was kidnapped under Russian occupation in the Oblast and is being illegally prosecuted on fabricated charges.
Separately, Tymoshenko recalled the persecution of media professionals in occupied Crimea, specifically the cases of Iryna Danylovych, Vilen Temeryanov, Rustem Osmanov, and Aziz Azizov.
Ukraine also reported that since the onset of the full-scale invasion, Russia has killed at least 147 journalists and continues the practice of pressuring the media to conceal war crimes and control the information space.
The Ukrainian delegation called on the international community to demand the release of all illegally detained journalists and to strengthen the response to Russian information campaigns.
To provide background, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don recently sentenced Ukrainian citizens Denys Hlushchenko and Oleksandr Malyshev – administrators of the “Melitopol is Ukraine” Telegram channel – to 26 years in a strict-regime colony each.
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