Sep. 9 — Gwara Media, a Kharkiv-based media covering life and Russia’s war in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region, won the Free Media Award, a press prize from the Fritt Ord Foundation and the ZEIT Stiftung Bucerius, says press release organizers shared with Gwara. 

Free Media Awards are being awarded to six independent media outlets and journalists in eastern and central Europe in recognition of their valiant investigative journalism under exceedingly difficult circumstances, organizers say. 

”For Ukrainian journalists, war means reporting under conditions of survival. We not only cover the frontline but also risks to democracy itself – disinformation, corruption, and shrinking civil society. For regional media like Gwara, this award is especially vital, as we bring global attention to local realities that would otherwise remain invisible,” says Serhii Prokopenko, editor-in-chief of Gwara Media.

Previously, this award was given to Ukrainian photographers Mstyslav Chernov and Evgeniy Maloletka, journalist and writer Nataliya Gumenyuk, internet media Zaborona, photo- and videoreporter Andriy Dubchak. 

This August, Gwara celebrated its 10th anniversary. Whatever awaits Ukraine in Russia’s war, our Kharkiv-based newsroom plans to keep reporting on it. Please, support our journalism by buying us a coffee or subscribing to our Patreon.

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