The IPI global network today condemns verdicts handed down by Russian authorities to Ukrainian journalists Heorhiy Levchenko and Vladyslav Hershon, who were sentenced to 16 and 15 years in prison respectively.
On September 2, a Russian court in the occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol found Levchenko guilty on charges of state treason and incitement to “extremism”. On the following day, a court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don found Hershon guilty of espionage and “terrorism”.
The two journalists were detained in August 2023, along with five of their colleagues, in occupied Melitopol. The group had previously run a Telegram channel called Melitopol tse Ukraina (“Melitopol is Ukraine”), which informed locals about the realities of life under Russian administration.
Following their detention, Russian occupying authorities accused the seven journalists of espionage and links to Ukrainian security services, claiming that one of their goals was to “exert psychological influence on the population of the region”.
“IPI condemns the outrageous and vindictive prison sentences handed to our colleagues Heorhiy and Vladyslav,” said IPI Eastern Europe Advocacy Lead, Karol Łuczka. “For over two years, Russia has kept the journalists behind bars on charges of espionage, terrorism and extremism, for having the bravery to report on the situation in their city of Melitopol. All seven detained journalists must be released immediately.”
While Levchenko and Hershon will now start serving their prison sentences, four other journalists from Melitopol, Maksym Rupchov, Oleksandr Malyshev, Yana Suvorova and Anastasia Hlukhovska, are still waiting for a verdict in their cases. The remaining journalist in this group, Mark Kaliush, was released at the end of August as part of a new round of prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia.
As of September 2025, at least 26 Ukrainian journalists remain behind bars, either in Russia or in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, according to IPI monitoring.