President Volodymyr Zelenskiy thanked the journalistic community for objectively covering the events in Ukraine since the first days of the full-scale russian invasion and for conveying truthful information to people around the world.
He stated this during an online meeting at the Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia think tank
"I want my voice to be heard by the world. And only thanks to journalists we managed to unite the world, and we united ourselves within our state," Zelenskiy said.
He stressed that in the fight against russian aggression, honest and truthful journalists "are no less important than weapons."
Zelenskiy said that he was shocked that since the first days of the war, six thousand media representatives from different countries have been constantly working in empty Kyiv.
"I have never seen such a thing: an empty city, civilians left, the military fought and there were journalists everywhere. They did a great job," he said.
At the same time, the President stressed that the war is not over - in some areas there is an active phase of hostilities, and somewhere everything is just beginning. Therefore, he called on journalists to continue their work and cover the events in Ukraine, "because it brings the victory of our state closer."
"I want to ask you not to leave us, because you are bridges between Ukraine and other countries. This information saves our lives. It is something we cannot live without. It is a great job, and I thank the whole journalistic community. There are no orders here - just "Tell what you see. Tell the truth, and I'm sure we will win. Because the truth will still win," Zelenskiy urged.
The President also expressed his condolences to the families of journalists, cameramen and technicians who died during the war.
It will be recalled that the Pulitzer Prize Board noted the courage of Ukrainian journalists during the russian attack with a special collective award.