Some 33 Ukrainian journalists are currently being held in Russian captivity, and Ukraine is urging the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, to use all available tools to respond to these violations, Ukrinform reports.
Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Yurii Vitrenko, revealed this data during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on 10 April.
“At least 33 journalists and other media workers remain among the Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russia,” Vitrenko said.
Among them are:
- Oleksii Besarabov
- Dmytro Shtyblikov
- Dmytro Khyliuk
- Iryna Danylovych
- Vladyslav Yesypenko
- Iryna Levchenko
- Seyran Saliev
- Ernes Ametov
- Aziz Azizov
- Rustem Osmanov
- Osman Arifmemetov
- Remzi Bekirov
- Anastasiia Hlukhivska
Vitrenko stressed that these journalists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on fabricated charges and are being held in inhumane conditions under severe physical and psychological pressure, amounting to torture in most cases.
Since the start of Russia’s aggression, more than 112 Ukrainian and foreign journalists have been taken hostage or held in captivity by Russian forces, he stated.
“According to the Institute of Mass Information, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, over 829 crimes against journalists and media outlets have been recorded in Ukraine. A total of 102 journalists have been killed,” Vitrenko said.
Among the most recent victims:
- Ukrainian journalist and editor Tetyana Kulyk, killed in her home in Kyiv Oblast during a deadly Russian drone strike on the night of 26 February
- Viktoriia Roshchyna, known for her reporting from temporarily occupied territories, who died in September last year while being transferred from Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog to Moscow
- Yurii Kirpik, a producer for Starlight Media, who was killed on 13 March 2025
Vitrenko emphasized that other unlawfully imprisoned journalists are still alive and can be saved.
“Let me again underline the critical importance of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media maintaining close attention to cases of Ukrainian and foreign journalists who have been attacked, taken hostage, or subjected to violence amid Russian aggression—and of using every available instrument under the mandate to respond to these gross violations,” he said.
He also called for thorough investigations and appropriate responses to Russian strikes targeting media infrastructure in Ukraine.