Media under Pressure: Ukrainian and Russian Journalists Share Insights into their Work
How is Russia’s war against Ukraine changing journalism? How do Ukrainian journalists report under fire? What are the consequences of state repression and exile for Russian journalists? During the discussion series "Journalists at Risk" in Regensburg, media professionals from Ukraine and Russia shed light on the impact of war, censorship, and political pressure on their work.
The discussion “Journalists at Risk – Turning Points: Ukraine” featuring Serhiy Shturkhetskyy, Milan Lelich and Olena Babakova and moderated by Jędrzej Morawiecki (University of Wrocław), opened the series on 23 June at the Evangelisches Bildungswerk Regensburg.
The participants noted that since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many Ukrainian journalists have had to leave their homeland. From abroad, they are currently addressing the rapidly grown Ukrainian diaspora or serve as international correspondents for their media outlets in Ukraine.
According to the speakers, despite the state of war, the lack of funding of the national Ukrainian outlets, and concerns about possible political pressure, Ukrainian journalism has continued to uphold its standards. In the absence of state censorship in Ukraine during wartime, the ongoing Russian aggression has nevertheless led to a certain degree of self-censorship among Ukrainian media professionals regarding military operations and sensitive security issues.
The speakers mentioned the transforming nature of the Ukrainian media landscape, where the system of oligarch-owned media resources is gradually declining while YouTube remains the most important platform for public discussions.
Since 2022, the coverage of Ukraine in international media has also transformed: many international outlets have extended their reportage on Ukraine, sent their correspondents to the country and developed structures for a more profound reporting.
Read more about the event and the work of Ukrainian journalists in the article of the Mittelbayerische Zeitung in German (paywall).
The second discussion of the series, “Journalists at Risk – Turning Points: Russia,” brought together Russian journalists Leonid Ragozin and Vladimir Shvedov , who are currently working in exile and are openly opposing Russian aggression in Ukraine. This discussion took place on 25 June 2026 in Regensburg and was also moderated by Jędrzej Morawiecki.
The speakers highlighted that independent media resources in Russia are virtually non-existent due to severe state repression, while the few independent journalists inside Russia face a serious risk of government persecution. The participants agreed that the destruction of Russia’s independent media landscape has been a gradual process and intensified in the early 2000s, gaining momentum following a series of key events including the takeover of the NTV media channel (НТВ), the protests on Bolotnaya Square in 2012, the 2020 poisoning of Alexei Navalny, and the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
As the internet blockages in Russia are currently intensifying, many people living in Russia can no longer access foreign online media. As a result, independent Russian media operating in exile are currently experiencing a narrowing of their audiences. This development is further complicated by the fact that many Russians living abroad are becoming less engaged with political issues of their homeland.
We would like to thank our speakers and moderator Jędrzej Morawiecki for their valuable insights into the challenges facing Ukrainian and Russian journalism, both of which are experiencing pressure, albeit in different ways. Additionally, we would like to thank our audience for their active participation in the discussions despite the extreme heat wave.
The discussion series “Journalists at Risk” was organized by “Denkraum Ukraine” / “Think Space Ukraine” at the University of Regensburg, in cooperation with Evangelisches Bildungswerk Regensburg e. V. and Leibniz Institute for East and Southeast European Studies (IOS). The events were financed by the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) through the funds from the Federal Foreign Office (AA).