More than 300 Ukrainian media outlets have been closed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion - study

During the 1000 days since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia, 329 Ukrainian media outlets were forced to cease their work. Only 52 of them managed to resume their activities.

According to the Institute of Mass Information, the closure of media outlets has hit the regions closest to the frontline the most. The leaders in terms of the number of closed media outlets are Zaporizhzhia region (50 media outlets), Donetsk (35), Kherson (34), Mykolaiv (30), Kharkiv (29), and Luhansk (26).

According to IMI's research, 24 media outlets were closed in Odesa region. However, according to Intent, more have closed in Odesa, especially online media.

IMI graphic

In general, IMI's research has shown that the Russian war has led to the closure of media outlets in all regions except two - Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions (however, IMI does not rule out that there are cases there that are not yet visible to researchers).

The main reasons for the closure of media outlets were the temporary occupation of the territories (117 closed media outlets) and financial difficulties caused by the war (96). For example, in Odesa region, 83% of the closed media outlets stopped working due to financial difficulties.

Intense hostilities, which made it impossible for journalists to work, ranked third among the reasons for closure (82 media outlets closed).

29 media outlets stated that they closed for other reasons, such as relocation of journalists, problems with distribution, and the inability to work as they did before the war.

Interestingly, six media outlets stopped working due to the mobilization of their editors-in-chief or managers. These are two media outlets in Mykolaiv and Chernivtsi regions and one in Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions.

As for the types of media outlets that closed, television suffered the greatest losses. According to IMI, 105 TV channels have closed since the beginning of the invasion, which is 32% of all media outlets that have ceased operations. The second largest number of closed resources is the print media, with 95 newspapers disappearing (29% of all media that have ceased operations). The Russian invasion also resulted in the closure of 77 radio stations (23% of all media outlets that closed). Online media suffered the least: 52 news sites were shut down, accounting for 16% of all closed media.

The leading regions where the media managed to resume their work are Kherson (14 media outlets), Kharkiv (12) and Mykolaiv (7). The resumption of media operations occurred mainly after the de-occupation of the territories occupied by the Russian Federation, where journalists returned.

Олеся Ланцман