In the spring 2022 Ukrainian Media Fund that was created by sincere media people of Nordic countries and Poland. We are an example that in today's world, full of chaos, demagogy, uncertainty, fake news and pure evil, journalists are still able to act in solidarity with each other. We are constantly trying to adjust our help to the changing needs. In the coming months, apart from financial aid for the most needy, we plan to provide equipment for work and support editorial offices by paying for software licenses which are necessary for them to carry out their service to local communities. We invite you to read the report 2022-2023 and short video about our last transport of in-kind aid. 36 newsrooms received equipment that allowed them to work despite power outages. Energy supplies and networks, as you know, are paralyzed by barbaric Russian attacks. Also 200 reporters in medium-sized, small and very small towns received special powerbanks, allowing them to recharge their phones and even laptops.
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On Friday the 3rd of March, the first Ukrainian Media Fund convoy in 2023 was delivered to Ukraine. Equipment worth over 50,000 EURO was distributed among local media. 200 journalists and 36 editorial offices received latest generation devices that will allow them to continue their work regardless frequent power cuts. Ukrainian Media Fund was established by Bonnier News, Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation, Tidningsutgivarna, Medialiitto, Mediebedriftene and Danske Medier.
Since the beginning of last year’s Russian invasion on Ukraine, Ukrainian Media Fund has been supporting local media outlets, journalists, and photojournalists in Ukraine by providing both financial and material assistance. Until now, UMF has raised 877 ,000 Euro. Its major sponsors are The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bonnier, Tidningsutgivarna, Axel Johnson, Polaris Media, and Sonoma. But the fund has also received a number of smaller, but equally important donations from other institutional and private donors. The Ukrainian Media Fund focuses on local and regional media because they were hurt stronger than national press outlets. Local media have seen a 40 to 80% drop in their income which resulted, among others, in their inability to pay wages to their staff. Ukrainian Media Fund has therefore taken it on itself to provide regular cash assistance to 172 journalists form more than 50 newspapers and portals in the most affected parts of Ukraine. It aims to continue its support throughout 2023.
In 2022 the UMF delivered personal gear such as helmets, body armour, goggles, and first aid kit, as well as technical equipment such as laptops, power banks or portable power generators. Keeping the local media working through these difficult times is crucial both to local communities and the journalists themselves. They provide first-hand information to the outside world and their mere existence gives reassurance and boosts the morale of local people.
On the 3rd of March another batch of over 50,000 Euro worth of equipment left Warsaw and was delivered to Lviv and nearby Truskavec in Western Ukraine. It was then distributed to media outlets all over the country by three UMF’s local partners.
Sergyi Tomilenko, president of one of them - the National Union Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) - stresses the importance of this help: “We greatly value our partnership with the Ukrainian Media Fund, which provides economic support to Ukrainian local newsrooms. Already in the first weeks after the full-scale invasion began, I got in touch with the founders of what became the UMF about emergency security assistance to Ukrainian journalists and about getting the first batches of protective equipment for them. The most pressing issue now is the economic sustainability of the media in Ukraine, which is necessary for journalists to continue to do their extremely important work, especially during the war.”
The transport consisted of 200 top of the class portable power banks that will allow journalists and photojournalists – often those reporting directly from the front line - to work throughout frequent power cuts. Another vital part of equipment delivered are power stations that can be fully charged within an hour and are strong enough to provide electricity to small editorial offices. What is important in the current situation, is that the power stations can be charged using solar panels.
“Russia is a terrorist country that is fighting with Ukraine and Ukrainians beyond the battlefield, attacking the population and civilian infrastructure. That is why the issue of energy independence is very acute for the Ukrainian media. The batch of power banks and chargers provided by the Ukrainian Media Fund is a guarantee that dozens of Ukrainian journalists and editorial offices will remain unbreakable and continue their work despite the blackouts.” – says Tomilenko.
The chargers and power banks will be distributed through – amongst others - the network of NUJU Journalists’ Solidarity Centres which respond to requests from editorial offices and journalists. As a priority, this equipment will be delivered to those working in the de-occupied and frontline areas. It will allow them to sustain the functioning of their servers in order to prepare both on-line and paper editions of the news. All this assistance apart from its material aspects gives an enormous moral support to the media community in Ukraine. For over a year now, they have been opposing the Russian invasion and sending direct reports from the ground and first-hand testimonies of atrocities committed by the aggressor. The next tranche of equipment is planned for May or June equipment it will consist of training sessions for journalists. The aim is to help them modernise news services and sites and bring them up to date with the latest solutions facilitating a swift recovery once the war is over.
ABOUT THE UKRAINIAN MEDIA FUND FUNDERS:
Bonnier Media, part of Bonnier Group is the holding company for a corporate group made up of the Nordic region’s leading media companies, with over 200 years of experience. Our companies span a broad range of media, with a strong historic core in independent journalism and book publishing. Through journalism, storytelling, knowledge and entertainment, we aim to make for a more open, interesting, entertaining and well-informed society.
Danske Medier is a trade organization for the private Danish media. We stand behind almost 300 media companies, which have one thing in common: the aim to provide citizens with information, insight, background and news.
Medialiitto is an umbrella organization for media and graphic industry companies in Finland. We represent approximately 650 companies in the areas of news media, magazine media, book and educational material publishing and printing, radio and TV operations and distribution.
Mediebedriftene (Norwegian Media Businesses' Association) is a member of the Confederation of Norwegian Business, and is the main negotiator vis-à-vis the labour unions in the media industry.
Tidningsutgivarna (Swedish Media Publishers’ Association) is the trade association for Sweden’s newspapers and other media companies. Its members are publishing newspapers and editorial sites, as well as tv and radio broadcasters. It has around 120 members throughout Sweden.
Gazeta Wyborcza Foundation was funded by Agora, the publisher of Gazeta Wyborcza, leading opinion daily in Poland. It promotes media freedom and integrity. We want to develop independent journalism through broadly understood educational and cultural activities. Agora SA is a Polish entertainment and media group created in 1989.

Thanks to the assistance of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) local newspapers from 15 liberated Ukrainian territories can now resume their public mission. Residents of villages and towns in eastern Ukraine get their Ukrainian newspaper shortly after liberation.

The Russian occupation of Ukraine caused many local and regional media outlets to either drastically limit their output or shut down completely. Even after recapturing the occupied territories, damaged infrastructure makes the simple task of distributing print media exceptionally challenging, leaving the most vulnerable communities, the elderly and digitally excluded, without access to reliable information.

One of the top priorities in Ukraine’s fight for sustained freedom and independence is the revival of local media. Newspapers provide tremendous psychological comfort to residents of the recaptured towns and villages but also help to foster a sense of community and solidarity in their hearts and minds. This is why the Ukrainian Media Fund, together with its partners and benefactors, is helping these outlets to get back on their feet.

Our partner, The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) is coordinating the effort by seeking out editors and journalists on the ground, encouraging them and providing financial support to fund the production, publication, and distribution of local newspapers. Sergiy Tomilenko, head of the organization, says that NUJU’s systematic financial support has already led to the successful revival of 15 local titles, which, after publishing their first issue, are gradually getting back on their feet and moving on, raising funds on their own and using market mechanisms to maximize funding for their editorial offices.

So far, one or more issues have been printed and distributed in Izium (Obrii Iziumshchyny), Lyman (Zoria), Kherson (Novyi Den), Barvinkove (Visti Barvinkivshchyny), Bakhmut (Vpered), Snihurivka (Visti Snihurivshchyny), Zolochiv (Zoria), Kharkiv (Selianska Gazeta), Zmiyiv (Visti Zmiyivshchyny), Blyzniuky (Nove Zhyttia), Bohodukhiv (Mayak), Kupiyansk (Visnyk Kupiyanshchyny). After the liberation of Kherson, Novyi Den was the first outlet to break the news to local residents.

As part of another large humanitarian aid convoy to the war-torn regions in eastern Ukraine, on November 17, the Ukrainian Media Fund delivered another package of essential supplies purchased with the generous support of our international partners and benefactors.
Over 300 pieces of thermoactive clothing worth an estimated EUR 1700 were handed out to Ukrainian families from Kharkiv, Kupiansk, and Dvorichna, identified with the help of local journalists. The gear, purchased at the sporting goods retailer Decathlon, will help the most vulnerable civilians of the Kharkiv region survive the cold winter months.
In Dvorichna, one of the vehicles carrying Gazeta Wyborcza’s political journalist Wojciech Czuchnowski came under fire from Russian troops. The red cross emblems with which the car was marked provided no protection. According to local residents, the convoy was fired at precisely because it came to help.