By Theodorah Munisi, MA student OsloMet
The 8th International Conference on the Safety of Journalists at OsloMet, with a theme of ˜Solidarity and Self-reliance for improved safety of Journalists’, had an opportunity to have a panel discussion with some Ukrainian Journalists who shared their experiences
on the risks they face during the Ukrainian War.
Several journalists are said to be attacked and killed even when not in the fighting fields. Tetiana Kozak, a Ukrainian journalist says journalists in Ukraine have to ensure their safety in this time of war, journalists are forced to carry medical kits, masks, and helmets while getting close to the fighting zones.
The journalist assumes that the Russians’ fear of truth being told by the journalists makes them to coercively attack the journalists deliberately, several journalists have been attacked and stopped while making coverage of the war. The safety of journalists is said to be at stake in Ukraine now to both Ukrainian and foreign journalists. This calls for a need of improved safety of journalists through solidarity
and self-reliance.