As world leaders scramble to stave off a Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukraine’s press corps also prepare for possible war. Journalists in the country spoke to Committee to Project Journalists (CPJ) about the current dangers they face, including risk of arrests and kidnapping while covering Donbass and Crimea, and their fears of communication blackouts and internet shutdowns if tensions climb.
“If there is an invasion…then it means very big personal risk for every one of us,” Olga Rudenko, editor of the recently founded Kyiv Independent newspaper, told CPJ. . “At the same time, I think everybody just realizes how exceptionally important [independent journalists’] role and our mission is right now.”
CPJ’s Asia program asked five Afghan journalists what objects they hurriedly packed as they fled the country following the Taliban takeover in 2021.
A journalist’s wife packed a jar of soil, so she “can smell our homeland.” CPJ helped evacuate at least 60 journalists and their families following the chaotic U.S. troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.
