site.btaAt Sofia Forum, Journalists Share Experience of Covering Ukraine War

Journalists from Ukraine, Europe and the United States shared their experiences of covering the war in Ukraine at a media forum in Sofia on Thursday.

In times of war it is very difficult to sort out what is true and what is false, said Martin Kothe, head of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation East & Southeast Europe Regional Office, speaking at the opening of the event. He noted that although reports on German television always end with the proviso that the information cannot be independently confirmed, he himself disagrees, for the information can always be confirmed if reporters go to the scene at the risk of their lives.

Kothe also disagreed with the idea that journalism should not take a position and be form of activism. Ukraine is becoming a victim of aggression, he argued and warned that "the forces of evil are very strong in the field of communications" and influence the way the public perceives war.

Addressing the wide range of participants - from Lviv to California, passing through Brussels, London and Skopje - in her opening speech, Association of European Journalists - Bulgaria President Irina Nedeva drew attention to the war in Ukraine which she underscored she would call a "war against Ukraine" led by Russia. 

The conference "War in Ukraine: The New Frontlines" was organised by the Association of European Journalists as a venue for reporters from Lviv to Los Angeles via Brussels, London, Sofia and Skopje to share their first-hand experiences of the war, which has been going on for more than eight months, as well as to share their impressions of how the conflict is affecting journalism in Ukraine, Russia and around the world.