As the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine approaches, Ukrainian journalists continue to face serious risks and threats related to their reporting on the war, the results of IPI’s three-year monitoring program show. Attacks by Russian forces on media offices and infrastructure, as well as cyberattacks, intensified over the past year, and at least 20 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity. Meanwhile, Ukrainian media are grappling with the impact of funding cuts by international donors, who had been a crucial source of support after domestic revenue sources suffered in the wake of the invasion.

Journalists killed and injured

Killings and injuries of journalists reporting in Ukraine spiked during the first six months following the full-scale invasion, but incidents of physical attacks continue at a high level, according to IPI’s Ukraine War Press Freedom Tracker, which has documented threats to journalists in Ukraine since February 2022. IPI documented 24 incidents in 2024, in comparison with 25 in 2023. Nearly all of these attacks have come from Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces.

At least 14 journalists have been killed in Ukraine in relation to their work since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, nearly all in Russian shelling or at the hands of Russian forces. Ten were killed in 2022, two in 2023, and two in 2024. This figure also includes journalist Victoria Roshchyna, whose death in Russian captivity last year shocked the Ukrainian media community.

At least 50 journalists have been injured since February 24, 2022, according to IPI’s data. Of these, 18 sustained injuries during the most intense period of violence between February and September 2022. Eleven more were wounded in 2023 and 18 in 2024, underscoring the continued high and stable level of risk that journalists face.

Destruction of media infrastructure

Immediately after the full-scale invasion started, Russian forces targeted media infrastructure and offices in Ukraine, including the March 1, 2022 attack on the Kyiv TV tower. The attack on the tower also led to the first wartime killing of a journalist on duty, camera operator Yevhenii Sakun. Russian attacks on Ukrainian media offices and infrastructure dipped in 2023 before intensifying again in 2024, with 15 such attacks last year.

Arrests by Russian occupying authorities

The first months of the full-scale war, amid the overall informational and security chaos which reigned at the time, saw frequent arrests of Ukrainian journalists by Russian occupying authorities. In some cases, journalists and media workers were eventually released, while others remain in custody.

As of February 2025, IPI has knowledge of 20 Ukrainian journalists held by Russian authorities. This includes both journalists who were detained while continuing to report in areas seized by Russia following the full-scale invasion, or who had been detained prior to the invasion in areas under Russian control, especially in occupied Crimea.

Especially worrying is the situation of journalists detained in recently occupied regions of Ukraine, namely Kherson and Zaporizhia, where reliable information on their condition is scarce. This includes at least seven young journalists who published on the anonymous Telegram channel RIA Melitopol and who are being held at unspecified places of detention.

Concern for the group of detained Ukrainian journalists has intensified following the death of Victoria Roshchyna while in Russian custody.

DDoS and other cyber attacks

IPI has registered 143 war-related cyber attacks or digital threats against Ukrainian media since the start of the full-scale invasion. This includes a series of emails circulated in 2024 claiming that bombs had been placed at Ukrainian media offices.

Over the past year, the number of cyber attacks on Ukrainian media has grown exponentially, with 84 media and individual journalists targeted in 2024, in comparison to 19 in 2023. While it is nearly impossible to establish with certainty who was behind these attacks, affected outlets often believed that Russian forces were responsible, citing anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian messaging in communications received from anonymous attackers. In some cases, cyber attacks followed Telegram announcements made by Russian hacker groups, such as the Narodnaya Cyber Armiya.

Another emerging concern are spoofing incidents, which see hackers create web-pages resembling those of legitimate Ukrainian media outlets but which contain messaging to lower morale and popularize the idea that Russia is winning the war.

Broadly, cyber attacks have had a serious impact on Ukrainian media by hampering their ability to reach audiences and, in particular in the case of the spoofing incidents, by lowering public trust in media.

Restrictions on access to information, surveillance, and the united information policy

While not comparable to the attacks inflicted by Russian armed forces, IPI has also documented incidents of pressure on media and investigative journalists by Ukrainian authorities.

In particular in 2023, IPI registered numerous cases in which local and national-level authorities used martial law as a pretext to refuse to provide information of public interest to journalists, such as information about road-building contracts or information on the salaries of local government officials.

In 2024, pressure on investigative journalists also mounted. IPI reported on alarming instances of surveillance of journalists by security services and of authorities using the threat of conscription to intimidate journalists.The Ukrainian government’s continued “united information policy”, which has been criticized both in Ukraine and abroad as producing overly patriotic and unobjective content, has also remained a point of concern.

Critics of the “united news” policy have argued that  Ukrainians have increasingly turned to anonymous, often covertly pro-Russian sources of information, active mainly on Telegram, in response to what is perceived as a lack of “real” news on media platforms which follow the “united news” policy.

Financial crisis caused by U.S. foreign-assistance suspension

Ukrainian media also face a new wave of uncertainty following the suspension of U.S. government foreign assistance in January. A number of Ukrainian media, especially at the regional and local level, have relied on foreign assistance to continue their work, especially following the full-scale invasion, which severely impacted local sources of revenue, including the advertising market.

As a result of the suspension, dozens of outlets are facing possible closure, and have had to resort to staff suspensions or dismissals in order to survive. Given the continued challenges for the sector, IPI continues to urge international donors, including the EU, to provide vital and urgently needed support for those Ukrainian media that are currently in crisis.

At the same time, the current crisis also shows the need to develop more stable and sustainable funding models for Ukrainian media, including reader revenue. IPI stands ready to continue supporting Ukrainian media in that process.

A story of resilience

The Ukrainian media sector continues to show remarkable resilience, three years into Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Despite persistent and intense attacks on media and press freedom, Ukrainian independent media continue to do their work despite serious safety risks and threats, psychological costs, and continued economic pressures, now acutely exacerbated by the suspension of U.S. foreign assistance.

Overall, the story of Ukrainian media in the past three years is one of deep perseverance and dedication to journalism despite extremely adverse conditions.

IPI continues to stand with Ukrainian journalists, who serve as a source of inspiration to journalists worldwide by continuing to do their job in such conditions.