We, Ukrainian journalists and media professionals, are deeply concerned about the attack on Yurii Makarov—a prominent Ukrainian journalist, TV presenter, and executive producer at Suspilne. The attack occurred on the evening of April 16.
As a result of the assault, Yurii Makarov sustained a stab wound and was hospitalized in serious condition. According to available information, his life is currently not in danger. We sincerely wish Yurii a swift and full recovery.
We demand that law enforcement authorities conduct a prompt and thorough investigation of this crime.
Yurii Makarov is a renowned Ukrainian journalist, a well-known advocate for Ukrainian culture and language, and the author of such documentaries as “Budapest. A Bomb Under Independence”, “Waltz with the System”, and a participant in the documentary series “The Last War” and “Collapse: How Ukrainians Destroyed the Evil Empire.” We do not rule out the possibility that the motive behind the attack was his professional journalistic work and his civic stance on the Russian-Ukrainian war.
We call on Ukraine’s Minister of Internal Affairs, Ihor Klymenko, to take personal control over the investigation and to ensure regular public updates on the progress of the case.
Attacks on journalists are unacceptable in a democratic society. Investigating them must be a priority for any state that declares its commitment to the principles of freedom of speech and human rights.
The Souspilnist Foundation team wishes Yurii Makarov a speedy recovery!
Background. MediaRukh is a community that unites journalists from leading Ukrainian media outlets, investigative journalists, and experts from media NGOs. It was founded on February 5, 2019.
The first signatories of the MediaRukh memorandum included Suspilne’s First Channel, Ukrainian Radio, Hromadske Radio, Ukrinform News Agency, Interfax-Ukraine, LIGA.net, Dzerkalo Tyzhnia Ukraine, NV, Censor.NET, Channel 5, Ukrainian Week, Opinion, a number of regional media, the Independent Media Council, and NGOs such as Detector Media, the Institute of Mass Information, Internews Ukraine, the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law, the Souspilnist Foundation, the National Association of Media, DII, the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy, and the Zmina Human Rights Centre.
Later, other organizations and individual journalists joined—in total, more than 70 participants. On November 16, 2021, representatives of leading media called on journalists to unite in the professional community MediaRukh to resist political and commercial pressure on freedom of speech. The statement was initiated by 29 journalists and experts. Their names are available here.
MediaRukh
Institute of Mass Information (IMI)
Suspilne
Detector Media NGO
Souspilnist Foundation
Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy
Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law
Ukrainian Media and Communication Institute NGO
Women in Media NGO
