"They can be saved": Ukraine urges OSCE action as Russia holds 33 journalists in captivity

Some 33 Ukrainian journalists are currently being held in Russian captivity, and Ukraine is urging the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Teresa Ribeiro, to use all available tools to respond to these violations, Ukrinform reports.

Russia’s detention of Ukrainian journalists has been widely condemned as unlawful, as they are considered civilians under international humanitarian law. Violations of these protections constitute grave breaches of the Geneva Conventions and may amount to war crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Furthermore, international organizations like the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine have labeled these acts as war crimes, emphasizing that journalists are targeted solely for their professional activities.

Ukraine’s Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna, Yurii Vitrenko, revealed this data during a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council on 10 April.

“At least 33 journalists and other media workers remain among the Ukrainian political prisoners held by Russia,” Vitrenko said.

Among them are:

Oleksii Besarabov
Dmytro Shtyblikov
Dmytro Khyliuk
Iryna Danylovych
Vladyslav Yesypenko
Iryna Levchenko
Seyran Saliev
Ernes Ametov
Aziz Azizov
Rustem Osmanov
Osman Arifmemetov
Remzi Bekirov
Anastasiia Hlukhivska

Vitrenko stressed that these journalists were sentenced to lengthy prison terms on fabricated charges and are being held in inhumane conditions under severe physical and psychological pressure, amounting to torture in most cases.

Since the start of Russia’s aggression, more than 112 Ukrainian and foreign journalists have been taken hostage or held in captivity by Russian forces, he stated.

“According to the Institute of Mass Information, since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion, over 829 crimes against journalists and media outlets have been recorded in Ukraine. A total of 102 journalists have been killed,” Vitrenko said.

Among the most recent victims:

Ukrainian journalist and editor Tetyana Kulyk, killed in her home in Kyiv Oblast during a deadly Russian drone strike on the night of 26 February
Viktoriia Roshchyna, known for her reporting from temporarily occupied territories, who died in September last year while being transferred from Detention Center No. 2 in Taganrog to Moscow
Yurii Kirpik, a producer for Starlight Media, who was killed on 13 March 2025

Vitrenko emphasized that other unlawfully imprisoned journalists are still alive and can be saved.

“Let me again underline the critical importance of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media maintaining close attention to cases of Ukrainian and foreign journalists who have been attacked, taken hostage, or subjected to violence amid Russian aggression—and of using every available instrument under the mandate to respond to these gross violations,” he said.

He also called for thorough investigations and appropriate responses to Russian strikes targeting media infrastructure in Ukraine.

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