Ukrainian journalist sentenced to 14 years in prison in occupied Crimea

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has committed 870 crimes against journalists and media. The most recent cases include the shelling of editorial offices and the sentencing of a civilian journalist from occupied Crimea to 14 years in prison.

This is evidenced by the data of the Institute of Mass Information.

In the three years and ten months since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has committed 870 crimes against Ukrainian journalists and media. In November-December 2025 alone, IMI recorded two cases: damage to editorial offices and judicial pressure on Ukrainian journalists held by Russia.

SCREEN SHOT: imi.org.ua

During this period, two media professionals who stood up for Ukraine were killed. Kostyantyn Shtyfurak was a military officer, filmmaker, and journalist; since the summer of 2022, he served as a UAV unit commander in the Hell Hornets unit of the 54th Separate Mechanized Brigade named after Ivan Mazepa.

Vasyl Khomko, the former director of the show "Heads and Tails," died on October 2, 2025, while covering the group's retreat. He volunteered for the front in March 2022, first serving in the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade and then in the Special Operations Forces. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, 121 media workers have been killed, including 15 in the line of duty.

Among the latest crimes committed by the Russian Federation is the damage to the premises of the Suspilne. Zaporizhzhia" branch during the shelling on November 26. The team was not injured, but windows were smashed and a wall was damaged.

SCREEN SHOT: imi.org.ua

In addition, a Russian court sentenced civilian journalist Vilen Temeryanov from occupied Crimea to 14 years in prison. He was detained in 2022 at his home in Dzhankoy district on trumped-up terrorism charges.

Also in Crimea, the Kyiv District Court of Simferopol ordered the arrest in absentia of Oleksina Dorohan, a journalist for Krym Realii. The journalist worked for the leading TV channels of Crimea and was a correspondent of the central Ukrainian TV channels in the region.

In addition, the Russian Court of Cassation upheld the sentence of Gennadiy Osmak, a journalist from Henichesk. He was detained on March 7, 2024; the former editor-in-chief of the Novy Visit newspaper is accused by the occupation authorities of "participation in an illegal military group" and "popularizing the Noman Chelebidzhikhan terrorist battalion".

Анна Бальчінос