Citizens see a street exhibit on journalists who died or were injured during the Russian War in Lviv, Ukraine, on April 4. Photo: Mykola Tys / EPA-EFE

Ukraine is one of the most dangerous missions in the world for reporters, and several people have already been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded the former Soviet Republic on February 24.

CSCE, also known as the Helsinki Commission, heard about the journalist’s personal experience and stories he encountered in a country that was hurt in battle in the last eight weeks.

Independent Ukrainian journalist Olga Tokariuk fled to western Ukraine a few days after the battle began and what the Russian war means for the future of a country that declared Russia’s independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. He said he was afraid of the war.

“If Russia is not stopped, this will happen everywhere if Russia is allowed to occupy more Ukrainian territory,” she told the Commission. “Russia will perpetuate the massive genocide.

“No one in Ukraine can be safe unless Russia is defeated.”

Tokariuk added that most of the journalists she knows in Ukraine may have initially underestimated the danger.

“Ukrainians had freedom of speech and freedom of the press,” she said. “We felt part of the free world.”

Tokariuk described terrible human rights abuses in parts of Ukraine, especially in the east, including kidnappings, disappearances and deportation to Russia.

CSCE, an independent government agency established in 1975 to monitor the security situation in Europe, states that at least seven journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the war.

The committee consists of several members of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and typically includes three members of the Department of Defense, the Department of Commerce, and the State. Those seats are currently vacant.

Asami Terashima, an independent journalist at Kyiv, told lawmakers that she had moved to Ukraine at the age of 10.

“Every day the war continues, more Ukrainian civilians are dying and more cities are being destroyed,” she said, emphasizing that Russia is not targeting only Ukrainian troops.

Freelance conflict reporter Oz Katelji told the Commission that Ukrainian fighters have succeeded in repelling Russia’s advance, but need Russian troops’ “heart-fearing” weapons and equipment. Told.

“This is democracy vs. totalitarianism,” he said. “It’s light vs. darkness.”

Evgeny Sakun, a Ukrainian photographer working at Kyiv Live TV, The first journalist killed After the invasion when a Russian missile attacked Kieu’s television tower on March 1.

Award-winning video journalist and documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud Killed by Irpin March 13th Attack on Fox News camera crew Near Kieu, a day later the Irish reporter Pierre Zakrzewski, a photographer and Ukrainian reporter producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova, was killed.

At the end of last month, journalist Oksana Baulina was killed in Kieu by the “Kamikaze” while working for Latvian-based Russian online research media. insider..

Jeanne Cavelier, head of Reporters Without Borders’ desks in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, said a few weeks ago, a quarter of all journalists who died worldwide in 2022 were within the first month of combat. He said he was killed in Ukraine.

“Their reports are essential to understanding the war in Ukraine, and since attacks on journalists are war crimes under international law, we ask Russian and Ukrainian authorities to guarantee ground security. I request, “Caverier said in a statement.

Ukraine ranks 97th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders’ 2021 Press Freedom Index. Russia is ranked 150th.

“Ukrainian journalists are endangering their lives every day to report on the reality of the war,” CSCE said in a statement before Wednesday’s hearing.

“Reliable field reports document war crimes committed by Russian troops and continued bombardment of Ukrainian cities, targeting civilians and critical infrastructure and expelling millions.”