“Tell the truth. And may you have people by your side in difficult times who will offer you their support and solidarity.” These words by Alina Stryzhak capture exactly what once again brought the investigative journalism community together this year.
The Souspilnist Foundation has been supporting fellow journalists for many years, and we value the opportunity to contribute to the jury of the 2026 National Investigative Journalism Competition – a platform that recognizes strong, professional, and socially significant work by Ukrainian journalists.
This year’s award-winning investigations tackled complex and sensitive issues.
In the “Best Socio-Political Investigation” category, the award went to Babel for its investigation, “The Skelia Assault Regiment has combat achievements and is well supplied. But witnesses say people there are tortured and beaten to death.” The investigation was authored by Kateryna Lykhohliad and edited by Kateryna Kobernyk.
Speaking about her work on the investigation, Kateryna Lykhohliad shared how difficult — and at the same time how important – the story had been for her:
“Never before in my life have I felt so strongly that I was doing something this important, and at the same time I have never been so frightened or found my work so difficult. I do not want there to be any more investigations into Ukrainian servicemen. I do not want crimes like these – whether on this scale or a smaller one to happen. And I want Ukrainian servicemen to know that there are people who will stand up for them too.”
In the category “Investigation of Violations of International Humanitarian Law during Russia’s War against Ukraine,” the award went to a joint investigation by Texty.org.ua and NZZ – “One of Hundreds of Thousands. The Story of a Ukrainian Orphan Who Disappeared in Russia.” The authors are Olena Kushchenko, Inna Hadzynska, Natalia Romanyshyn, Adina Renner, Andreas Rüesch, Forrest Rogers, Yasmin Hegetschweiler, and Nicolas Staub.
Another important part of the ceremony was the presentation of a new Special Award for the Best Regional Anti-Corruption Investigation, established by the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI).
The award went to Chetverta Vlada for Oksana Havrysh’s investigation, “‘To Hell with Waiting This Long’: How a Rivne Maternity Hospital Manipulates the Right to Free Medical Care.” The award was presented by Allan Pagh Kristensen, Head of the European Union Anti-Corruption Initiative (EUACI):
“For us, it is very important to recognize the strong work being done in the regions — work that does not always receive as much attention at the national level, despite being extremely important.”
Support and solidarity within the professional community became one of the key themes of the evening.
We congratulate all the winners and thank the organizers, as well as all the journalists, for their work, resilience, and professionalism.
