On Journalist Day, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree awarding 37 journalists and media professionals from Ukraine and abroad for their contribution to the development of journalism and for reporting the truth about Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Head of State posthumously awarded the Order of Merit, III class, to producer and Armed Forces of Ukraine lieutenant Viktoria Bobrova (Kvitka). She accompanied media crews on the front, conducted interviews with warriors, and produced reports from the battlefield. During one of the enemy’s artillery attacks in August 2025, she provided aid to a wounded brother-in-arms and evacuated him to safety. She also helped develop and film the documentary Warriors of the Mountains, dedicated to mountain assault units. Viktoria Bobrova passed away on April 23, 2026, in the city of Barvinkove in the Kharkiv region.
The Order of Merit, III class, was awarded to Nataliya Gumenyuk, Executive Director of the NGO Public Interest Journalism Lab and co-founder of the international initiative The Reckoning Project. The Reckoning Project has collected thousands of testimonies about crimes committed by Russian occupiers; some of them are being used in international legal proceedings, including cases related to the abduction of Ukrainian children and the persecution of civilians.
The Order of Princess Olga, III class, was awarded to Kseniia Vasylenko (Sonya Koshkina), journalist, co-founder, chief editor, and host of original media projects at the LB.UA online news outlet. She has worked in journalism for more than 25 years, has led LB.UA since its founding in 2009, and ensured the uninterrupted operation of the newsroom amid Russia’s full-scale aggression. She is the author of the book Maidan: The Untold Story, dedicated to the events of the Revolution of Dignity, and a lecturer at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and international academic programs.
Kostiantyn Doroshenko (Order of Merit, III class), Correspondent for Radio France Internationale in Ukrainian, art critic, contemporary art curator, and publicist. He publishes materials on Ukrainian culture in foreign media and organizes and curates art projects in various countries. He is the author of several books on Ukrainian culture and art.
Robert Opalenik (Order of Merit, III class), editor-in-chief of TSN: Week with Alla Mazur. He has worked as an editor of weekly news programs for more than 25 years. From the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he took an active part in creating the United News telethon. For the first six months, he worked on news production in a 24/7 mode.
Pavlo Pavlov (Order of Merit, III class), camera operator for Channel 24. He works in settlements under Russian attacks. He has repeatedly provided medical assistance to the wounded in enemy shelling and evacuated them to safe locations. He has documented hundreds of war crimes committed by the occupiers and created an important database of video evidence for Ukrainian and international media.
The Order of Princess Olga, II class, was awarded to Yuliia Kyriienko-Merinova, war correspondent of TSN. From the very beginning of Russia’s aggression, she has worked in combat zones, covering the situation at the front, producing reports, live broadcasts, and interviews with Ukrainian warriors.
The Order of Princess Olga, III class was awarded to Victoria Butenko, senior producer at CNN International. She is a multiple winner and nominee for the Emmy Award – the highest television award in the United States. Victoria Butenko has produced exclusive reports on the return of Ukrainian children from deportation and on deep strikes against Russian military targets.
Daryna Krasnolutska (Order of Princess Olga, III class), Chief of the Bloomberg News bureau in Ukraine. She has received numerous international distinctions for her journalistic work. Her reporting on Western components in Russian weapons, written together with colleagues, led to hearings in the United States Congress.
Kateryna Lisunova (Order of Princess Olga, III class), media advisor at the American NGO Razom for Ukraine. She previously worked as a special correspondent in Ukraine and the United States. She produced the documentary Ukraine and the UN: Two Years on the Security Council and became the first Ukrainian accepted as a member of the United Nations Correspondents Association (UNCA). She provides support to Ukrainian journalists within the UN system.
The President also awarded state honors to foreign journalists. Among them is Zarina Zabrisky (Order of Merit, III class), American journalist and war correspondent for Byline Times and Euromaidan Press. She is the author of the documentary Kherson: Human Safari, which depicts the daily Russian terror against civilians.
Ibrahim Naber (Order of Merit, III class), war correspondent and Chief Reporter for Die Welt, who works in combat zones and frontline regions. His documentary Living and Dying for Ukraine – Bakhmut was released in 2024. In October 2025, he was wounded in a Russian drone attack while interviewing service members.
Caolan Patrick Robertson (Order of Merit, III class), Irish journalist, documentary filmmaker, and video reporter. He is the author of documentaries about the war in Ukraine and moved to live in our country in 2024.
Stéphane Siohan (Order of Merit, III class), correspondent for the international agency Libération, who, with the start of Russia’s aggression in 2014, was among the first French journalists to cover the war in Ukraine. He is one of the initiators of a project to provide Ukraine with anti-drone nets from the Brittany region.
In addition, the President awarded the honorary title Merited Journalist of Ukraine to Oleg Borysov, Natalia Bratushka, Ihor Darmostuk, and Serhii Cherevatyi.