Ukraine discusses how Russia destroyed media freedom in Crimea

On September 10, the Ukraine Media Center hosted a discussion of the destruction of freedom of speech in Crimea based on the second edition of freelance journalist Yuriy Lukanov 's book The Press Machine: How Russia Destroyed Media Freedom in Crimea, published by the German publishing house Ibidem Verlag and translated into English. The presentation of this publication took place in February in the UK at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Financial Times, London Metropolitan University, Oxford University, University of Glasgow, University College London.

During the discussion, it was noted that the Russian occupation authorities have taken the fight against freedom of speech to a higher level in recent years than it was during the occupation of 2014, and even involved Western media for this purpose.

For example, Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group and Co-coordinator of the Crimean Platform Expert Network, noted that the European media mostly mention Crimea in the military aspect. The problems of Crimean Tatars or Ukrainians on the peninsula are hardly ever mentioned. She emphasized that this was not due to the policy of the states, but because this aspect is very little covered by Ukraine. According to her, the media in Sweden, Poland, and Romania most often discussed the problems of Crimean residents under occupation from a pro-Ukrainian position. According to Olha Skrypnyk, the pro-Russian position on Crimea appeared more often in the media of Italy, France, and the Netherlands.

She was supported by Valentyna Samar, editor-in-chief of the Center for Investigative Journalism. In her opinion, Russia has created many grant programs for media outlets that promote pro-Russian narratives and uses various media to create an image of the occupation of Crimea that is loyal to Russia. The aggressor country needs this in order for European countries to lift or ease economic sanctions. According to Valentyna Samar, Ukraine at the state level supports the media, which cover the problems of the occupied Crimea much less.

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