Along with telethon, Ukraine has “vibrant” media landscape - Mathernová

The media environment in Ukraine remains vibrant as pluralism and media freedom are in place amid the ongoing war with Russia.

That’s according to the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, who spoke in an exclusive comment to Ukrinform ahead of the publication of the EU Enlargement Report 2024, where one of the areas of assessment is freedom of press.

In the upcoming report, there are some critical comments on the media landscape. But I live here and I  don't think there is a lack of media freedom,” said the ambassador.

“Indeed, there’s a telethon, which might not have that much viewership and rating, and anyone can legitimately discuss whether it still serves the purpose as it did at the outset of the war, but outside of it, the media discourse and the media landscape is very vibrant,” Mathernová emphasized.

“If somebody tells me there's no freedom of speech or freedom of media in Ukraine, that would not be a serious accusation,” the diplomat said.

Asked whether the EU intends to further support independent journalism in Ukraine, the ambassador recalled that “there's no democracy without independent journalism”, adding that the European Union will continue to support the entire ecosystem of independent media, including the Suspilne public broadcaster and regional outlets, as well as organize training courses.

EU provided financial and operational support for more than EUR 15 million to teams of more than 150 media outlets at different levels.

“Our financial support for Ukrainian media is substantial and it will continue so media outlets are welcome to apply for help,” the ambassador concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochytskyi said the national telethon will continue its work for as long as the war goes on in Ukraine, adding that the project should produce higher-quality content to be more appealing to the general public. 

Speaking at the National Media Talk in September, U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink praised Ukrainian journalists’ work, thanks to which Ukraine rose in the press freedom index to the 61st spot and keeps helping the world learn about Russia’s crimes.

Meanwhile, Freedom House called on the international community to hold Russian authorities fully accountable for the murder of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, whom Russia had captured and imprisoned.