Media Lifeline Ukraine
An international coalition to empower and protect Ukrainian journalists.
When just watching your homeland burn is not an option.
Once the initial shock from witnessing a genocide hitting my homeland passed, I was already on the road fundraising for Ukraine. Helping as many Ukrainian journalists as I can felt like the most useful thing I could do at the moment.
On March 4th, 2022, with help from Free Press Unlimited and Free Press for Eastern Europe, we pitched to foreign donors the idea of Media Lifeline Ukraine, a coalition to protect war-affected Ukrainian journalists and keep Ukrainian journalism available in and around Ukraine. Shortly after, we started shipping thousands of units of protective gear for Ukrainian journalists, building safety hubs so they could keep working amid bombings and blackouts. And in fall 2022, we launched a creative hub in Warsaw, where Ukrainian refugee journalists and producers would create content for Ukrainian frontline newsrooms. I ran the entire effort as a project director until late 2024.
I AM PROUD OF:
Safe journalists
We relocated over 1,000 Ukrainian journalists to safe spaces and provided them with emergency financial assistance.
We have brought 150 high-quality ballistic vests and helmets across the border for the direct protection of journalists reporting at the frontlines.
Resilient newsrooms
We provided free digital security infrastructure to frontline Ukrainian newsrooms.
We set up several shelter hubs for Ukrainian journalists alongside the frontline to power up their reporting during mass blackouts.
Impactful stories
We set up an international safety hub for Ukrainian refugee journalists in Warsaw, Poland.
It supported refugee journalists with a 12-month fellowship.
The Hub partnered with 10+ Ukrainian newsrooms.
The Hub co-produced 170+ news stories for our partners that reached 4.1+ million in Ukraine and beyond.
Not a single one of the thousands of Ukrainian journalists chose to become a war reporter overnight. But for several years, they have been bravely documenting the worst genocide that Europe has seen since the Holocaust. russian invaders have murdered over 100 of my colleagues since 2022, including 12 on their line of duty. Many more are missing or kidnapped in the occupation.
As I ran Ukraine Media Lifeline, I witnessed how international aid for Ukrainian journalism began to disappear. Meanwhile, Ukrainian journalists keep getting murdered. Some of our partner newsrooms ran out of funds and closed down. This is the most important story in Europe since World War II that will decide the future of the Free World, yet we expect Ukrainian journalists to cover it 24/7, put their lives on the line for it and do it with zero budget.
If you also think it is unfair, ask me how to fix it.