A letter from editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko: Freedom of the press under threat in Ukraine (Patreon)

Hello from Kyiv, Ukraine!

This is Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of the Kyiv Independent.

If you’ve been a member for a while now, you know that if it’s me again, clumsily elbowing my way into your inboxes, the topic must be serious.

I’m writing to talk about an issue I care deeply about, and the issue you should watch if you care about Ukraine’s future: the freedom of the press. 

Last week, we ran a story that can easily go unnoticed among all the war reports, but it’s worth paying attention to. It’s a report about the state of the freedom of the press in Ukraine. Here’s the link for you.

In a nutshell, the situation is alarming. Here’s what you need to know:

As you know, Ukraine is fighting a war of survival. What’s at stake in this war is our right to define our own future, to be integrated in the Western world. Essentially we are fighting to be everything that Russia isn’t: a democracy and a free country. 

None of it will be possible if we lose the free press. Without it, there wouldn’t be anyone to keep those in power accountable, critics will be silenced, and from there, it’s fast track into autocracy. 

Today, the war is threatening the survival of the free press in Ukraine. And what’s most concerning, not all the threats are coming from Russia.

Bad actors within Ukraine are trying to use the war and the tools it grants them to limit the freedom of the press. They often disguise their actions as necessary wartime limitations that guarantee national security, but in reality they mainly target independent journalists who uncover government corruption.

We at the Kyiv Independent have felt some undue attention from Ukraine’s law enforcement, too. It was unsettling, but didn’t make us any less committed to keep doing our job and bringing truthful news from Ukraine to the world. 

The good news is that Ukrainian independent journalists are putting up a good fight. They stand up to pressure, investigate their own assaulters, and demonstrate remarkable resilience. Some of it is described in our story. It’s truly inspiring.

What can you do to help? I encourage you to support independent Ukrainian journalists in any way that is available to you: by donating to their fundraisers, sharing their stories and even just writing a note of support to editorial emails. Show them they are not alone in this fight.  

We at the Kyiv Independent want to thank you for being our member and supporting our work. We are funded by our members, and more members mean more resources to write stories, film reports, and investigate Russian war crimes. Your contribution makes a difference in helping us report. We encourage you to share this story about freedom of the press in Ukraine with your network and ask them to become a member as well.  

Thank you for standing with us and empowering us to stand up for our freedoms.

Best,

Olga Rudenko 

Editor-in-chief 

The Kyiv Independent