PACE adopts resolution in support of Ukrainian journalists held captive in Russia
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution titled Journalists matter: the need to step up efforts to liberate Ukrainian journalists held in captivity by the Russian Federation, which calls for the release of 26 Ukrainian journalists from Russian captivity.
Source: Yevheniia Kravchuk, a member of Ukraine's permanent delegation to PACE and author of the resolution, on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda
Details: A total of 128 PACE delegates voted in favour of the resolution.
Kravchuk stressed that since the beginning of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine, more than 800 crimes against journalists and media have been recorded; at least 108 journalists have been killed; and 26 Ukrainian journalists remain in Russian captivity (the resolution includes a list of their names, places and dates of detention).
"The resolution contains concrete provisions of our action plan to force the aggressor to release our people and restore justice," Kravchuk said.
The resolution demands that Russia:
- immediately release all Ukrainian journalists who are illegally detained in Russian prisons and on occupied territories
- provide information on the location and health of the captives
- allow the International Committee of the Red Cross access to them
- cease the practice of torture, killings and persecution of journalists, which has been ongoing for years – first in occupied Crimea and, since 2022, in other territories of Ukraine.
The document also calls on Council of Europe member states to strengthen sanctions against all those involved in crimes against journalists.
In addition, PACE urged investigations and prosecutions for the crime of incitement to genocide, including for hate speech, disinformation and propaganda.
For the first time, a PACE resolution used the term "citizen journalists". It highlights that citizen journalists in Crimea risk their safety daily to cover events under occupation. Most of them are not professional journalists but Crimean Tatar activists and relatives of political prisoners, many of whom are forced to work anonymously for security reasons. They are often victims of persecution.
The resolution also introduces an annual PACE commemoration – Victory for Victoria – a dedicated day during the autumn session to honour journalists and war correspondents who risk their lives while fulfilling their professional duty. The name was chosen in honour of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna, who was captured by Russian forces, tortured and killed in captivity.
Ukrainian journalists Vladyslav Yesypenko and Dmytro Khyliuk, who had been freed from captivity, attended the debates and the vote in PACE.
The first Victory for Victoria Day has been marked during PACE's autumn session, held from 29 September to 3 October this year.
On 30 April 2025, the European Commission stated that the latest details about Roshchyna's death in Russian captivity are further proof of the cruelty of the Russian system and evidence that the occupation is a deadly threat to Ukrainians.
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