In May, there was a sharp increase in Russian attacks on journalists in Ukraine
In May 2026, 22 Russian attacks on civilian journalists, newsrooms, and media infrastructure in Ukraine were recorded. According to the National Union of Journalists, this is nearly three times more than in April and the highest figure since the beginning of the year.
The organization’s monitoring covers only confirmed cases of journalists being injured, as well as the destruction or damage to newsrooms, homes, and media workers’ property resulting from hostilities.
In total, 60 verified incidents have been recorded in Ukraine over the first five months of 2026. The monthly breakdown is as follows:
- January – two cases;
- February – 10 cases;
- March – 18 cases;
- April – eight cases;
- May – 22 cases (an all-time high for the year).
“Behind each of the 22 cases recorded in May are human stories. These are journalists who run to shelters in the middle of the night, lose their homes, newsrooms, or equipment, but continue to work. Russian missile and drone attacks have a direct impact on the Ukrainian media landscape. Our task is to document these consequences and convey the truth about them to our international partners,” emphasized Serhiy Tomilenko, head of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
The decisive factor in the sharp increase in the number of crimes against the press was the Russian Federation’s massive combined attack on Kyiv on the night of May 24.
In just that one night, at least ten media facilities in the capital were damaged. The following are reported to have been affected:
- the offices of the newspapers “20 Minutes” and “RIA Plus” in Ternopil, the newspaper “Mayak” in Bohodukhiv, the “Suspilne Zaporizhzhia” branch, and the newspaper “Promin” in Snivsk.
- the editorial offices of “Hrati,” “Realna Gazeta,” and “Shelter,” the UNIAN news agency, as well as the studios of the German broadcasters ARD and Deutsche Welle.
- The building of the “Zorya” publishing house in Dnipro and the office of the Kyiv regional branch of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine.
However, analysts note that even without taking this large-scale attack into account, May would still have shown a high level of danger for the media—12 recorded cases in the regions.
While most cases in April were recorded in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Kyiv became the geographic epicenter in May.
This was reported by the press service of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine based on the results of its monthly monitoring.
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