In the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine, the issue of impunity for crimes against media workers remains among the most pressing. According to data from the Prosecutor General’s Office, within the first nine months of 2025, law enforcement agencies in Ukraine registered 33 criminal offences against the lawful professional activity of journalists. During this period, prosecutors referred five criminal cases of this category to the courts for substantive consideration.

Journalists and trainers Liubov Velychko and Olena Mudra noted that despite the documentation of such violations, journalists often face ineffective investigations of their cases, as a significant number of proceedings are later closed without proper review.

At the same time, representatives of the National Police raised the issue of pseudo-journalists who abuse the status of media representatives. According to law enforcement officials, the absence of an effective mechanism for granting and revoking press credentials undermines public trust in journalists and hampers police work.

Aiming to identify ways to overcome impunity and to strengthen co-operation between law enforcement agencies and journalists, the two-day pilot training course was launched jointly by the Council of Europe and the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine, within the framework of the Council of Europe campaign “Journalists Matter.” The training was developed under the guidance of Liudmyla Opryshko, Council of Europe Consultant, and integrates the Council of Europe’s general curriculum “Journalists Matter / Safety of Journalists.” It also reflects the implementation in Ukraine of the 2016 Council of Europe Recommendation on the protection of journalism and safety of journalists and other media actors. The programme covered international legal standards and national practices in investigating crimes against journalists, and outlined approaches to assessing the effectiveness of such investigations in line with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) case law.

Investigative journalists Liubov Velychko and Olena Mudra shared their personal experiences of persecution and obstruction encountered in the course of their professional duties, stressing the importance of prompt police response in such cases. Representatives of the police, Anton Abadzhian, Prosecutor of the Prosecutor General’s Office, and Oleksii Kinebas, lawyer and media attorney of the NGO Human Rights Platform, discussed typical challenges in classifying criminal offences and evidentiary issues essential for protecting journalists in relevant cases.

Participants agreed that fostering a culture of mutual understanding and communication between journalists and law enforcement should become an ongoing practice, to be expanded to the regional level. They also noted existing legislative gaps and inconsistencies that complicate effective investigation of crimes against journalists and the prosecution of offenders. Following the discussions, participants agreed to prepare their proposals, while the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, in turn, may act as an intermediary in submitting these developments to the legislative initiative body, taking into account the proposals that have been prepared.

In parallel, the Council of Europe continues to support the work of the Anti-SLAPP Working Group, which operates, inter alia, on the basis of the Council of Europe’s Preliminary Legislative and Policy Proposals for implementation of Council of Europe and EU standards to counter SLAPPs in Ukraine. With the project’s support, the working group experts have now prepared and agreed on draft texts of a primary anti-SLAPP law and corresponding amendments to the Civil Procedure Code.

The Council of Europe Project “Safeguarding Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Media in Ukraine – II Phase” (SFEM-UA) is implemented by the Council of Europe  Division for Co-operation on Freedom of Expression in the framework of the Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” 2023-2026