They stand up to both Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.
Since the beginning of the war, Kyiv Independent has insisted on press freedom and journalistic independence.
Even though it has faced resistance. And according to editor-in-chief Olga Rudenko, it is more important now than ever before.
»Everything changed the day we were invaded. Since then, we have covered the war in every conceivable way, and we will continue as long as it lasts. It is about the survival of our country«, she said in an interview with Politiken in January.
On Saturday, February 21, the Ukrainian online media outlet will receive Politiken’s Freedom Prize, which is awarded annually to extraordinary individuals or institutions that defend freedom rights under risky circumstances around the world.
According to Politiken’s editor-in-chief, Christian Jensen, this year’s recipient is honored for its awe-inspiring journalistic courage.
»In war, truth is usually the first casualty. But The Kyiv Independent bucks the trend—standing tall and delivering investigative journalism of international caliber,« he says.
Critical of both sides
Kyiv Independent has not only exposed Russia’s war crimes and been present at the front, but the media outlet has also critically examined Ukraine’s own government and folk hero Volodymyr Zelensky.
That is precisely what is so extraordinarily inspiring about Kyiv Independent, says Christian Jensen.
»They describe how Russian forces kidnap and re-educate Ukrainian children. But at the same time, they manage to produce critical journalism when Volodymyr Zelensky makes interventions in anti-corruption efforts. It speaks to a very great courage, fearlessness, and journalistic integrity that is truly exceptional«, he says.
In addition to risking their lives at the front line, Kyiv Independent’s journalists work under difficult conditions from a secret location in Kyiv. Like the rest of the Ukrainian population, they suffer from repeated power outages caused by Russian attacks and work in cold and darkness much of the time.
They manage »under the worst imaginable conditions to prove that journalism can make a difference«, says Christian Jensen.
It started with a firing
Kyiv Independent launched just three months before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
It all began with a firing when the owner of Ukraine’s oldest newspaper, Kyiv Post, dismissed all its journalists in 2021 following massive internal criticism of a series of measures that employees perceived as severe restrictions on journalistic independence.
It didn’t take long before the journalists decided to band together to start a new media outlet. This became Kyiv Independent, which currently has 25,000 members and around 2 million monthly readers.
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