On Journalist’s Day, the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers honors the memory of all media workers killed in the Russia–Ukraine war and also remembers colleagues who are being illegally held in enemy captivity.
Since 2014, in the temporarily occupied territories, Russians have been arresting and abducting Ukrainian media workers. As of June 2024, at least 28 media professionals are being held in detention in the Russian Federation or in the temporarily occupied territories. This was reported by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
“Russian armed forces detained and threatened … categories of civilians whom they perceive as opponents of the occupation, including journalists, civil servants, officials, and civil rights activists,” the report of 20 March 2024 by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights states.
Oksana Romaniuk, Executive Director of the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), said at the press conference “Illegal detention, torture, captivity: how and why Russia wages war against Ukrainian media workers” that since 2014 more than 100 Ukrainian and foreign journalists have been held in Russian captivity. “What Russia is doing is unquestionably a crime. I would say it is a crime of genocide, because we see the filtering of citizens by certain characteristics. That is why it is very important for international organizations to get actively involved in helping Ukraine,” the IMI director noted.
NSJU’s Information Service reports 28 civilian journalists being held captive by the Russian Federation:
- Oleksii Bessarabov, a Ukrainian journalist and political analyst, former servicemember of the Ukrainian Navy. He lived in Sevastopol, worked as a correspondent for the outlet “Glavred,” collaborated with the “Nomos” analytical center, and was deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “Chornomorska Bezpeka” (“Black Sea Security”). Detained by the FSB on 9 November 2016 on charges of sabotage and terrorist activity. Tortured with electric shocks. On 4 April 2019, in an obviously fabricated case, he was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Volodymyr Dudka, a Ukrainian sailor, safety engineer, political analyst; collaborated with the magazine “Chornomorska Bezpeka” (“Black Sea Security”). Detained by the FSB on 9 November 2016 on charges of sabotage and terrorist activity. Tortured with electric shocks. On 4 April 2019, in an obviously fabricated case, he was sentenced to 14 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Dmytro Shtyblikov, a Ukrainian journalist, reserve officer of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, head of international programs at the “Nomos” analytical center, and deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine “Chornomorska Bezpeka” (“Black Sea Security”). Detained by the FSB on 9 November 2016 on charges of sabotage and terrorist activity. In May 2017, under coercion and threats against family members, he signed a plea deal, admitting “guilt.” On 16 November 2017, he was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment to be served in a maximum-security penal colony. On 8 November 2021, when he was due to be released, he was arrested on charges of “high treason” and kept in custody.
- Ernes Ametov, a citizen journalist who actively covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 11 October 2017 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. On 16 September 2020 he was acquitted, but on 14 March 2022 an appellate court overturned the acquittal. On 29 December 2022, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
- Marlen Asanov (Suleiman), a photographer, promoter of Crimean Tatar culture, and citizen journalist who actively covered searches and court proceedings. Arrested on 11 October 2017 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 19 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. Due to detention conditions and prolonged time in solitary confinement, he often falls ill.
- Tymur Ibrahimov, a citizen journalist who actively covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 11 October 2017 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 17 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Seiran Saliiev, a citizen journalist who actively covered searches and court proceedings. Arrested on 11 October 2017 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Server Mustafayev, a human rights defender, one of the organizers and coordinators of “Crimean Solidarity,” and a citizen journalist. He conducted systematic monitoring of the situation in Crimea and covered politically motivated court proceedings in the media. Arrested on 21 May 2018 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. He filed a number of lawsuits regarding the seizure of his Quran and personal belongings, lack of adequate medical care, and other violations by the administration of “correctional” institutions.
- Ruslan Suleimanov, a citizen journalist who covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 27 March 2019 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Rustem Sheykhaliiev, a citizen journalist who covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea, primarily “court” proceedings. Arrested on 27 March 2019 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. Despite serious illnesses (chronic pyelonephritis, right kidney ptosis, varicose veins in the legs), he received a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Remzi Bekirov, a citizen journalist and correspondent for Grani.ru who covered high-profile cases against Crimean Tatars in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 28 March 2019 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 19 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Osman Arifmemetov, a writer, winner of literary contests, and citizen journalist who actively covered searches and court proceedings and helped prepare parcels for remand prisons for unjustly convicted Crimean Tatars. Arrested on 28 March 2019 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. He received a sentence of 14 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Vladyslav Yesypenko, a journalist with Radio Svoboda/Radio Liberty’s “Krym.Realii” project. Arrested on 10 March 2021 after filming a flower-laying at the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol the day before; for a month, his relatives did not know what had happened to him. He was first accused of espionage and later of possessing and transporting an explosive device. Vladyslav was tortured with electric shocks and threatened with murder. He was sentenced to 5 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony. The case of Vladyslav Yesypenko effectively became a “how-to manual” for fabricating cases against other journalists. Laureate of the 2022 Ihor Lubchenko National Prize for the Protection of Freedom of Speech.
- Amet Suleimanov, a citizen journalist who covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 12 March 2020 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. Despite severe heart disease (doctors recommended replacement of the mitral valve), he received a sentence of 12 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony. He was under house arrest, and after the verdict entered into force (from 5 April 2023) he has been imprisoned. He is held in conditions that contribute to the worsening of his illness.
- Asan Akhtemov, a Crimean journalist, correspondent, and assistant editor of the newspaper “Avdet.” Detained on 3 September 2021 on charges of blowing up a section of a gas pipeline near Simferopol. He was subjected to torture and psychological pressure by FSB officers. Despite the obvious fabrication of “evidence,” he was sentenced to 13 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Nariman Dzhelyal, a Crimean journalist who worked for the TV channel “ATR” and the newspaper “Avdet.” Deputy head of the Mejlis of the Crimean Tatar People. Detained on 4 September 2021 on charges of blowing up a section of a gas pipeline near Simferopol. Despite the obvious fabrication of “evidence,” he was sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment in a maximum-security penal colony.
- Dmytro Khyliuk, a UNIAN journalist, abducted by Russian troops on 3 March 2022 from his parents’ homestead in the village of Kozarovychi, Vyshhorod district, Kyiv region. No official charges have been brought against him. According to an investigation by Reporters Without Borders, as of July 2023 he was being held in one of the penal institutions in Russia’s Vladimir region.
- Serhii Tsyhipa, a public figure and journalist from Nova Kakhovka, detained on 12 March 2022. On 6 October 2023, an occupation “court” in Simferopol sentenced him to 13 years in prison on espionage charges. On 14 February 2024, an appellate “court” upheld the verdict.
- Iryna Danylovych, a Crimean nurse, trade union and civic activist, and a citizen journalist for “Krymskyi Protses” (“Crimean Process”). Abducted in Koktebel on 29 April 2022; held in a basement and subjected to torture and intimidation. Accused of manufacturing and storing an improvised explosive device. She received a sentence of 7 years’ imprisonment. Her health has significantly deteriorated in custody: she is losing her hearing and has suffered a stroke. Due to the lack of medical care, she went on a dry hunger strike.
- Vilen Temerianov, a citizen journalist and later a journalist for Grani.ru, who actively covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 11 August 2022 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. In custody, he was subjected to a forced psychiatric examination; in addition, his eyesight deteriorated sharply. As of April 2024, no sentence had yet been issued.
- Iryna Levchenko, a journalist from Melitopol, detained on 6 May 2023 together with her husband Oleksandr. What she is accused of and where she is being held is not reliably known.
- Viktoriia Roshchyna, a freelance journalist who collaborated with Ukrainska Pravda, Hromadske Radio, and Radio Svoboda/Radio Liberty. She has been in Russian captivity twice. The first time was from 16 to 22 March 2022, when she was detained in Berdiansk. Viktoriia disappeared again on 3 August 2023 in occupied territory, from where she planned to report. Russia acknowledged that it is holding Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna. The Russian Ministry of Defense sent confirmation to her father, Volodymyr Roshchyn.
- Heorhii Levchenko, an administrator of the Telegram channel “RIA Melitopol,” arrested by the FSB in Melitopol on 20 August 2023 as a so-called “Ukrainian terrorist,” as shown in a Russian propaganda video. Where the journalist is being held is currently unknown.
- Anastasiia Hlukhovska, prior to the full-scale invasion a journalist with the outlet “RIA Melitopol,” arrested by the FSB in Melitopol on 20 August 2023, as shown in a Russian propaganda video. However, the FSB does not officially acknowledge her detention. Where she is being held is unknown.
- Yana Suvorova, an administrator of the Telegram channel “Melitopol Is Ukraine,” arrested by the FSB on 20 August 2023 as a so-called “Ukrainian terrorist,” as shown in a Russian propaganda video. Where she is being held is unknown.
- Rustem Osmanov, a citizen journalist who covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 5 March 2024 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. The Russian “Kyiv District Court” in Simferopol ordered his detention as a preventive measure for two months.
- Aziz Azizov, a citizen journalist who covered human rights violations in occupied Crimea. Arrested on 5 March 2024 on charges of involvement in the Muslim organization Hizb ut-Tahrir, recognized as “terrorist” in Russia. The Russian “Kyiv District Court” in Simferopol ordered his detention as a preventive measure for two months.
- Hennadii Osmak, a journalist from Henichesk and former editor-in-chief of the outlet “Novyi Vizyт” (“New Visit”). On 12 March 2022, he announced he was ceasing work in the media. On 7 March 2024, it became known that he had been detained on charges of “participation in an illegal armed group” (“promoting the terrorist battalion named after Noman Chelebidzhikhan”). He faces up to 15 years in prison.
NSJU’s Information Service also reports two journalists who were captured while serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine:
- Maksym Butkevych, a human rights defender and journalist, founder of the Zmina Human Rights Center and Hromadske Radio. After the start of the full-scale aggression, he was mobilized; in June 2022 he was captured. In March 2023, on fabricated charges of wounding civilians, he was sentenced to 13 years in prison. On 13 March 2024, a cassation court upheld the verdict.
- Oleksandr Hudilin, a journalist with the Mariupol outlet 0629.com. After the start of the full-scale war, he was mobilized into the Territorial Defense and guarded various facilities in Mariupol. He was captured on 12 April 2022. The Donetsk regional organization of the NSJU insists on Oleksandr’s immediate release.
Also, after combat engagements near Chasiv Yar in Donetsk region, an employee of Ukrainski Novyny did not return from a combat mission—commander of a mechanized company, junior lieutenant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Petrakovskyi. According to the outlet, citing Oleksandr’s fellow soldiers and relatives, he went into his last battle leading a group. The position was taken quickly, but unfortunately not for long. “A mortar round landed in the dugout. No one came out of it afterward. We searched for the wounded using a drone. Our guys went twice to retrieve the bodies, but without success. The position is now under the enemy,” fellow soldiers reported.
Heavenly photographers. Documentary, nature, and commercial photographers killed by Russians in the war. Eternal memory to the brave and talented photographers who died documenting the Russian invasion or defending their country with weapons in hand instead of a camera.
This material was produced with the support of The Fritt Ord Foundation.
Worked on the piece:
Topic researcher, text author: Vira Labych
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
