Over 30 Ukrainian media representatives remain in Russian captivity – Karandieiev

Thirty-two Ukrainian media representatives remain in Russian captivity, and negotiations are underway to bring them back to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Rostyslav Karandieiev, Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine, said this during a trip to the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the press service of the Ministry of Information Policy and Culture.

As part of the trip, Karandieiev met with representatives of the local media. The topic of their meeting was also support for regional media outlets and the return of captured media workers.

"The revival of Ukraine begins with the regions. Therefore, we should start these processes right now, including by involving those who will broadcast this revival, interpret the change and engage in the formation of critical thinking in society," he said.

Karandieiev said that the Ministry of Information Policy and Culture was already preparing a budget declaration for the next year, where there will be a serious emphasis on financial support for regional media, notably print media.

Karandieiev also commented on the activity of social media sites Telegram and TikTok. According to him, there are currently about 350 hostile Telegram channels, with several dozen of them already blocked.

In addition, the issue of imprisoned journalists was raised at the meeting. Karandieiev said that according to the Ministry of Information Policy and Culture, 32 media representatives were currently in Russian captivity. He added that negotiations were underway to ensure their return to Ukraine as soon as possible.

Photo: Ministry of Information Policy and Culture