(MENAFN- UkrinForm) According to Ukrinform's correspondent in New York, a statement to this effect was made during the debate on information issues in the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly by First Secretary of the Permanent Mission of Ukraine Dmytro Tymoshenko.

He noted that Russia continues to intensify its disinformation war in support of its aggression against Ukraine.

According to Tymoshenko, despite the reduction in military spending in the Russian Federation's budget for 2026,“funding for propaganda is set to increase by as much as 54%, which clearly illustrates its priorities.”

The diplomat stressed the importance of clearly distinguishing between disinformation and war propaganda and journalism:“Russian state-sponsored propagandists masquerading as 'journalists' incite hatred towards Ukrainians, glorify the war crimes of the occupying army, and try to justify the aggression.”

He recalled the case of journalist Viktoria Roshchyna, who was tortured to death in a Russian detention center, as well as new crimes against media workers.

In particular, on October 23, the Russian authorities illegally sentenced 21-year-old administrator of the Telegram channel“Melitopol is Ukraine” Yana Suvorova to 14 years in prison on fabricated charges. Earlier, the administrators of other Melitopol Telegram channels, Georgy Levchenko and Vladislav Hershon, were sentenced to 16 and 15 years in prison, respectively.

Tymoshenko also recalled the abduction of journalist Anastasia Hlukhovska, who has been held in isolation for more than two years, and whose whereabouts remain unknown.

“These cases are a striking example of the systematic suppression of independent Ukrainian media in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” he said, adding that at least 27 Ukrainian media representatives remain in Russian captivity.

The diplomat also reported that on October 23, a Russian drone killed journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevgeny Karmazin from Freedom TV in Kramatorsk, while journalist Alexander Kolychev was wounded. On October 3, a direct hit by a drone killed French photojournalist Anthony Lallican and wounded Ukrainian journalist Georgy Ivanchenko.

According to Tymoshenko, at least 124 Ukrainian journalists have been killed since the start of the Russian war in 2014.

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“The world cannot remain silent when Russia tortures and kills journalists,” he said, calling on the international community to condemn the crimes committed by the Russian Federation against journalists and other media workers in Ukraine.

The diplomat stressed that Russia should be held accountable for the abduction, torture, and murder of journalists, and that all Ukrainian media workers held captive in Russia should be released.

As reported by Ukrinform, France's National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into allegations of war crimes in connection with the death of photojournalist Anthony Lallican as a result of a Russian drone attack in Ukraine.

Photo: video screenshot

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