Journalist dies every four days: Russians kill 37 media representatives in Ukraine over five months

Five months into the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military killed 37 media workers.

That’s according to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

"Among the dead are eight journalists who performed their professional duties, 12 media workers perished as civilian victims, another 17 mass media representatives were killed in action after being mobilized to become part of Ukraine’s Defense Forces," the statement reads.

Every four days, a journalist is killed as a result of the Russian war in Ukraine.

The latest victim of the Russian aggression was Mykola Rachok, an author and news editor of the InfoCar outlet, who died in a battle with the Russian Wagner PMC mercenaries.

According to Serhiy Tomilenko, the NUJU chair, "Ukrainian journalists are primarily Ukrainian nationals. Therefore, seeking to protect their Homeland, many media workers left their pens and notebooks behind and took up arms. The NUJU expresses great respect to such colleagues of ours."

"Others continue to fight the enemy on the information front – both in the rear and on the front lines. Unfortunately, in this war, unleashed by the Russian aggressor, there are many innocent victims. Each of them will forever remain in the memory of their colleagues, friends, and all Ukrainians," Tomilenko emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on July 21, Mykola Rachok, a journalist with the auto review publication InfoCar, died in the war with the Russian invaders. Mykola deployed to defend Ukraine from the onset of the full-scale war. According to the editor-in-chief of the said outlet, over the five months of the Russian invasion, patriotism, motivation, and fortitude made him a warrior.

On July 5, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Aliona Matveyeva, said that the National Police had initiated 46 inquiries into the crimes committed by the Russian military against journalists.