The truth is often one of the first victims of war. In the case of Ukraine, we see it with the disinformation offensive that surrounds this conflict. But there is more: journalism itself is under threat.
Posted at 11:00 a.m.
The threat is twofold. It is first of all immediate, for Ukrainian and foreign journalists who continue to do their work at the risk of their safety. Then, it announces dark days for the very practice of journalism in what Ukraine could be at the end of this conflict and in what is becoming Russia in its efforts to muzzle the press.
Many journalists received accreditation to travel to Ukraine to cover what was shaping up to be a Russian incursion into separatist territories in the east of the country. Many of them now lie holed up in bunkers in Kyiv, awaiting a Russian offensive that could wipe out the city, if Vladimir Putin uses the same bombardment strategy he deployed to conquer Grozny when he arrived. in power.
Some of them sneak out to report during the increasingly rare lulls. A risky operation. Two Danish journalists were targeted by Russian soldiers when they ventured out to report on the bombing of a school. They miraculously survived their injuries. The press card no longer guarantees immunity. A Ukrainian cameraman, Evgeny Sakun, had less luck during the bombing of the television tower in Kiev.
Journalists under bombs
This conflict is different from those in Afghanistan and Iraq where foreign journalists accompanied an invading army. They find themselves instead under the bombs of the invader. Negotiating humanitarian corridors would allow them to leave Kyiv and other besieged cities, but this would come at the cost of independent coverage of the conflict. It is also far from certain that if the Russians take the capital, they allow journalists to work freely.
Many foreign journalists have already retreated to Lviv, in the west, with the hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian civilians fleeing towards the Polish border. Their contacts with Ukrainian journalists and the images and testimonies circulating on social media allow them to cover the conflict by proxy, a compromise as necessary as it is frustrating.
The more the Russian steamroller continues to advance, the more coverage of the invasion will be provided by Ukrainian journalists who insist on staying, out of professional and patriotic duty. They hold the microphone rather than the Kalashnikov of the popular militias.
But they risk a lot, not only because some of them are, according to American intelligence, blacklisted by the Russian army, but because they are far less equipped and trained than experienced war correspondents. . Reporters Without Borders has opened a center in Lviv to help journalists in Ukraine. The organization solicits donations and distributes protective equipment, helmets, bulletproof vests, medicines and first aid supplies, accelerated training for conflict zones, psychological support, up to police assurance. These efforts are in addition to those of several other humanitarian organizations.
A profession worth defending
A Russian victory in Ukraine would mean a huge setback for Ukrainian journalists who believe in the importance of this profession for the democratic development of their country. We already have a taste of what journalism would be like under Russian occupation with what is happening in Russia. The closure of the last two independent media outlets, Echo Moscow radio and the Dodj digital television channel, by the authorities is the first salvo in an all-out attack on journalists who dare to provide independent coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The law adopted by the Duma, the Russian Parliament, and which provides for sentences of up to 15 years in prison for critical coverage of the war, led several media, including Radio-Canada and the BBC, to withdraw from the air its journalists in Russia. Collateral victims of this conflict. We have never seen anything like it, even in the darkest years of the Cold War.
The war will eventually end in Ukraine. But without a truce that allows President Zelensky’s government to stay in power, independent journalism could well wither away. For foreign journalists, covering Ukraine under a puppet government would entail serious constraints. For Ukrainian journalists, practicing their profession risks reducing them to a life of dissent.