Pressure on leaders to avoid appeasement
Ukrainian journalists issued a video appeal on Nov 2 to international media colleagues to keep Russian aggression in the spotlight and urge their leaders not to appease Moscow. "We speak to you from a country where every morning begins with checking whether our families and friends are still alive. This appeal is a desperate attempt to warn you," the journalists said in the address. The appeal comes as cities across Ukraine face relentless Russian attacks against civilian infrastructure, killing and injuring Ukrainian civilians on a daily basis. The journalists also noted incidents like the September 28 attack in Kyiv, where a projectile hit a residential building in the city center, forcing firefighters and medics to evacuate an injured person. Russia has also begun a campaign against Ukraine’s energy and water grids, which leads to prolonged power outages and deprives cities of water supplies. The journalists warned that while people may think the war in Ukraine has stopped or is about to end, the war is still raging because Russia’s genocide and ecocide continue. They stressed that it is up to foreign colleagues to prevent politicians from lifting sanctions and from allowing Russia to rebuild its strength.
Media distortion and political shifts
The journalists warned against the distortion of facts and against underestimating the threat that Moscow poses beyond Ukraine. They specifically criticized news coverage that describes striking Russian oil refineries as "madness and a disgrace." In the video appeal, the journalists questioned if killing people with ballistic missiles is not a disgrace and if destroying bridges, schools, and hospitals is not madness. The journalists also warned against treating the Russia-Ukraine war as a distant matter that does not impact the rest of the world or repeating mistakes of history by appeasing an aggressor. This follows developments in October when US President Donald Trump waived major sanctions against Russia and announced a diesel deal between Washington and Moscow. During that same month, Trump pressured Ukraine to halt strikes against Russian oil refineries, a situation that the journalists say necessitates media courage to prevent their countries from siding with evil. The journalists also told their colleagues that the courage of politicians depends on journalists.
