Suspilne Broadcasting and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) have agreed to boost cooperation in the field of journalist safety, including through joint purchase of FPV drone detectors to protect journalists working in frontline areas.

This was discussed during the 18 February meeting between Suspilne Broadcasting management and the watchdog’s Director General Thibaut Bruttin in Kyiv, Suspilne reports.

The cooperation plan also includes specialized safety training such as: alerts of drone activity; developing situational orientation skills; finding cover and moving; studying drone strike response protocols; developing general tactical medicine skills.

Thibaut Bruttin recalled that the organization provided Ukrainian journalists with bulletproof vests at the onset of the full-scale war and continues to do so, but now this is not enough. According to Bruttin, the emergence of new threats such as drone strikes necessitated the search for additional practical solutions to protect media professionals.

“The best way to protect journalists is to prevent attacks on them. I believe in international justice and in the fight against impunity, but this is a long process. Which is why today, during a meeting with Suspilne’s management, we discussed tangible ways to protect journalists from drones. […] We need to adapt to new threats. We strive to be not only experts on issues, but also experts on solutions,” he stressed.

Svitlana Ostapa, Suspilne’s supervisory board chair, said that the safety of journalists had been discussed during a recent meeting with representatives of the parliamentary Temporary Commission for the investigation of Russian crimes against the media.

She quoted chief editors and managers of Suspilne’s front-line branches as saying that their work is growing increasingly dangerous due to the threat of Russian drones.

“That is why we pay special attention to safety issues. After all, journalists with Suspilne not just produce verified content now, but also track war crimes. Now 9 in every 10 reporting trips are filming war crimes of the Russian Federation,” she said.

Suspilne’s Board Chair Mykola Chernotytskyi added that teams of their frontline branches work in high-risk areas every day, so the company is considering involving more safety specialists.

IMI recorded Russian troops deliberately targeting journalists in drone strikes: three journalists were killed in such strikes while reporting in October and two more were injured.

Kherson reporters working in the so-called “kill zone” (a dangerous area along the front line) have stopped wearing PRESS stickers and badges.