a newspaper that is popular in Russia
Vassyl spent years reporting from Zolochiv before delivering news along the shattered roads of northeastern Ukraine. At the age of 20, he started writing poetry as a teenager, went to Kharkiv for literature, and then joined the neighborhood Zolochiv newspaper. He left his job at the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, where he investigated corruption in the district, at the age of 31. He returned to the weekly ten years later.
He claims, “I can’t imagine doing anything other than journalism.”
Vassyl is proud that his publication was one of the first to de-nationalize in 2017 to be de-nationalized. He contributed to the draft of the legislation that made it possible for local Ukrainian newspapers to be privatized, which he believed would help to lessen state pressure and preserve editorial independence.
He has continued to look into local political corruption throughout the war, even though he acknowledges that the war has been the center of his efforts.
Russia “feeds on our internal divisions.” My job is to fight the lies of the enemy, he says, even if holding our own authorities to account continues to be a priority.
His life has been in danger more than once as a result of the fight against Russian disinformation.
Two Russian shells struck the weekly newsroom on April 5, 2022, at 9:30 am, partially destroying the 140-year-old structure where it was originally located. Vassyl’s normal schedule would have allowed him to work at the time, but he was spared because he stayed in bed that day instead of going to bed.
“It was late to work,” I said. He says with a dark laugh that he and one of my friends had a big night out the night before and that we had drank a lot of terrible vodka. It’s a time of war, the author declares. We only had this bottle of the alcohol because the alcohol was so poor.
That is what saved me, he said. Although I usually get up early, I was hungover.
Two shells flew overhead as he finally started moving and was walking with a friend.
“Everything exploded a second later.
Thankfully, the newsroom was not accessible at the time. Vassyl is aware that he had a lucky escape when his old desk, which is still covered in debris more than three years later, is still a mess.
I would have been dead if there had been any shrapnel in the room, he claims.
His newsroom has been targeted ten times, eight times with guided aerial bombs, and eight times with artillery, since the most recent attack in spring 2025.
Kremlin media reported that Vassyl was responsible for spreading false information at the start of the conflict.
“Vassyl says ironically,” “Apparently, I run a propaganda outlet.” Russian state television broadcast a report in 2022 accusing me of breaking the law to enter one of their villages to spread false information.
“I’ve never been there,” he said. Documenting missile remnants that have been embedded in the ground since the start of the war is something I’ve done.
Russian missile remnants could be the subject of international law-related war crimes or violations.
Vassyl claims that this article is the motivation behind my newsroom’s targeting.
The newspaper stopped being published for nearly a year after the invasion of 2022 and the bombing of Kharkiv’s printing press. Many Zolochiv residents retreated to safer areas, at least temporarily, as a result of Russian forces’ closing in. Vassyl, however, made the decision to stay.
He says, “I had to bear witness, but I couldn’t do it if my loved ones were in danger as well,” explaining how he sent his family to western Ukraine and began documenting the destruction that had taken place in his hometown.
At the time, enemy forces were only 6 miles (6,2 km) away. He recorded bombings, evacuations for the poor, and ruined structures on his phone.
Who would have done it if I hadn’t captured what I was seeing with my own eyes? We reside in remote regions. I had to explain what was going on in the world.
Vassyl self-taught himself how to edit videos that he shared on social media and YouTube to get more views.
He continues to be angry that “the Russians were still claiming they were striking command posts or tank repair facilities.” They were actually hitting a kindergarten, a hospital, and residential structures.
Vassyl became determined to restore access to news in regions that had been deprived of it for six months when the Ukrainian army began liberating the first villages close to Zolochiv. He obtained a new printing press and began his work.
There is frequently no other reliable source of information in these rural areas. He proudly declares, “People trust us, and we cannot leave.”
Kostyantyn Neoneta, the newspaper’s accountant, remained in Zolochiv like Vassyl, while two members of the newsroom made remote workovers.
Kostyantyn, who bicycles to the town each week, states, “I didn’t want to leave.” I was aware of my significant contribution to this city over other towns.
Source: Aljazeera
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