By Aidan White

As the war in Ukraine continues, the devastation and human cost of the conflict is mounting. But as well as the human toll, there has been a terrifying assault on democratic values such as freedom of the press. Journalists and human rights defenders in both Ukraine and Russia are facing enormous challenges and independent voices are being stifled.

In Russia, free speech is being systematically extinguished as independent media is closed down and critical reporters are forced to flee the country. In Ukraine, the local media community is fighting a courageous battle for truth-telling in wartime conditions while standing up for press freedom. Everywhere propaganda and censorship have thrown a cloak of secrecy over the most dangerous conflict to break out in Europe since the Second World War.

In this context, the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN), with the support of the Evens Foundation, has commissioned a series of articles about the ethical challenges facing journalists covering this war – in Ukraine, Russia and around the world.

Experts and journalists will write about the ethical challenges of reporting conflict zones; the Ukrainian journalists struggling for impartiality; the courageous resistance of journalists in Russia; and the impact of social media and disinformation on coverage of the conflict.

This series will highlight the importance to news media of the five core values of professional journalism as an antidote to propaganda and censorship. These are:

• accuracy and fact-based reporting;
• independence;
• impartiality;
• humanity and respect for others; and
• accountability and responsible reporting.

It can be a struggle to maintain these values at the best of times and is even more difficult during war, when combatants on all sides demonise their opponest and turn to malicious lies and propaganda to win over public opinion.