The International Press Institute (IPI) has documented more than 900 cases of physical attacks, censorship, harassment, arrests, and other press freedom violations in Russia and Ukraine since Putin’s full-scale war of aggression began one year ago.

The vast majority of these attacks have been perpetrated by Russian forces or authorities, underscoring that Putin’s war against Ukraine is also a war against the press.

IPI’s data shows that journalists in Ukraine have suffered most of the physical brutality of this war, while media in Russia have faced severe legal harassment and repression. At least 10 journalists have been killed in Ukraine in the line of duty, while IPI has registered more than 100 others cases of physical attacks and threats to journalists’ safety in Ukraine with dozens of journalists covering the war coming under Russian fire or shelling. Meanwhile, IPI has documented over 600 media freedom violations in Russia since the war’s start, including 160 arrests of journalists and 187 cases in which news sites were blocked for reporting on the war.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, IPI has been systematically monitoring media freedom violations and threats to journalists in both countries. Our public database, the IPI Ukraine War Press Freedom Tracker, documents physical and other attacks on journalists covering the war in Ukraine, as well as acts of censorship; arrests and criminal charges against journalists; repressive new media legislation; and restrictions on access to information.

Key findings from data:

• 910 cases of violations and threats against journalists and media in Russia and Ukraine since the start of the full-scale invasion
• Russian forces or authorities are responsible for 80 percent of these threats. In another 10 percent of cases, the responsible actor is unknown, but this includes cyber-attacks of suspected Russian origin.
• At least 10 journalists have been killed in Ukraine while covering the war.
• 150 arrests of journalists in Russia on war-related charges
• 187 cases of websites blocked in Russia for publishing news on the war.

“Our data confirms that in this war of aggression against Ukraine, media are clearly targeted by Russian forces and authorities. Amid a growing list of atrocities and incalculable human suffering, Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine has taken an especially heavy toll on the region’s journalists and independent media”, IPI Executive Director Frane Maroevic said.

“The data we collected on these attacks illustrates the nature, scope, and sheer brutality of Putin’s war against the media in both countries — and the risks that so many journalists face as they continue to report independently on this war. The IPI global network stands by our brave colleagues in Ukraine as well as the Russian independent media community as they seek to report on and document the horrors of Russia’s war for their communities and for all the world to see.”