In Kherson, journalists removed PRESS label because of drone hunting

Kherson journalists working in the frontline area have refused to wear PRESS stickers and patches because of the threat of attacks by Russian drones. Drone operators are deliberately hunting media workers, making the markings potentially deadly.

This is stated in the final report for 2025 by the regional representative of the Institute of Mass Information in Kherson region, Serhiy Nikitenko.

According to the report, drone detectors have become a mandatory piece of equipment for Kherson media professionals, and their work is impossible without their own safety rules. The journalists focus on hours with less activity of Russian drones, plan routes through relatively safe streets, and avoid any signs that could attract the attention of drone operators. That is why in 2025, most of them stopped using the PRESS label.

According to IMI's representative, this decision is due to the fact that the Russian military considers journalists to be priority targets. This has been repeatedly confirmed by posts in pro-Russian telegram channels, which openly demonstrated the results of attacks on civilians.

Journalist Oleksandr Korniakov said that in Kherson, the marking could pose a direct threat to life. According to him, the drones that initially flew by began to search for people after they noticed the PRESS inscription or photographic equipment, forcing them to hide and wait for hours in dangerous conditions.

The so-called killzone, the range of Russian drones, now covers the entire city of Kherson. Despite the constant threat, dozens of local journalists continue to work in the city and surrounding communities.

Throughout 2025, the Institute of Mass Information has recorded targeted drone attacks on media professionals: in October, three journalists were killed while performing their professional duties, and two others were injured.

Last year, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe adopted a resolution demanding that Russia immediately release the 26 Ukrainian journalists currently in captivity.

The resolution emphasizes the inadmissibility of pressure on media workers and calls for their immediate release. For the first time, the term 'citizen journalists' was used in the PACE resolution.

The Assembly officially stated that since February 24, 2022, Russia has committed more than 800 crimes against media workers, including the deaths of 108 journalists. The PACE emphasized that torture, murder and persecution of media workers by Russia is a systematic practice that originated in the occupied Crimea and spread to other occupied territories after 2022.

Анна Бальчінос