Russia has damaged dozens of editorial offices and injured journalists over past six months: National Union of Journalists of Ukraine has documented 80 cases
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine documented 80 confirmed cases in the first half of 2026 in which Russian aggression resulted in physical harm to journalists or damage to media infrastructure.
According to Censor.NET, this information was reported by the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
According to the NUJU, over the past six months, there have been 35 cases of damage to journalists’ homes and property, 28 cases of destruction or damage to editorial offices and media facilities, 14 cases in which journalists were targeted by Russian attacks while on the job, and three cases in which civilian journalists were wounded.
"Every damaged editorial office, every wounded journalist, every media worker unlawfully imprisoned — each is separate evidence of Russia’s systematic war against freedom of speech," emphasized Serhii Tomilenko, chairman of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
May saw the highest number of attacks
The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) recorded the highest number of incidents in May—22. This is linked to a massive Russian attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24, when the offices of Ukrainian and international media outlets were damaged, including UNIAN, "Graty", "Realna gazeta", the ARD and Deutsche Welle studios, as well as the office of the Kyiv regional branch of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU).
The union notes that the nature of threats to journalists has changed significantly due to Russia’s widespread use of attack drones. Of particular concern are fiber-optic FPV drones, which are virtually undetectable by existing surveillance systems.
Russia is detaining at least 28 Ukrainian journalists
According to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), no civilian journalists were killed during the first half of the year, but three media workers were injured. At the same time, ten journalists and media workers serving in the ranks of the Ukrainian Defense Forces were killed.
In addition, Russia is illegally detaining at least 28 Ukrainian journalists. None of them were released during the first half of 2026.
According to the NUJU, at least 152 members of the Ukrainian media community have been killed since the start of the full-scale invasion due to Russian aggression.
