KATERYNA GLADKA
Bucha, a green town near Kyiv, has always been a special place with the scent of pine forests, numerous recreational bases, and pleasant tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. Over time, more and more people started moving closer to nature. Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel became oases for young families and the creative class. Over a year ago, the world had no idea what Bucha meant, but now this picturesque place is associated with the inhumane terror inflicted by Russian occupiers on its territory.
For the first time since those events, the media community initiated a large conference under the open sky—
Bucha Journalism Converence in the center of the city park to share thoughts and reflections, attempting to make sense of something that is difficult to comprehend as humans.
Bucha Journalism Conference aims to empower journalists and media professionals to fulfill their mission by providing a platform for open dialogue, education, and collaboration.
My goal was to feel the time and place, to understand what is happening with a process of memorization and how the residents feel now. So, for me, this was also the first visit since the start of the full-scale invasion in Bucha.
Participants from Ukraine and around the world gradually gathered in the large amphitheater while the voices of birds drowned out the surroundings. Everything was immersed in greenery, incredibly clean, and local children were playing nearby. It's amazing how nature reminds us that life is always stronger, that it engulfs all the horrors witnessed and transforms them into an overwhelming desire to continue living, to endure.
Ethics and the Return of Names
"Our goal is to make these pieces of evidence that have been collected become testimonies in The Hague through the joint efforts of journalism, law enforcement agencies, and local authorities. And maybe when they talk about an international tribunal, it won't be Nuremberg or The Hague but Bucha. We would like the perpetrators of crimes committed in Ukraine to be held accountable right here in our place," begins
Mikhaylina Skoryk, a former journalist, media manager, and current deputy mayor of Bucha.
Currently, the official number of people killed by russian occupants in Bucha is
422 , but the information is being updated, and it is possible that this number may increase. The process of documenting crimes is ongoing, with 80 bodies still unidentified, and these are particularly brutal crimes for which no one has been held accountable, and the identities of the deceased remain unknown. Mikhaylina Skoryk hopes that this conference will become an annual event and expand to an international level to transform this open-air site of war crimes into a tribunal.
The chief editor of the media "The Babel"
Yevhen Spirin arrived in Bucha with part of his team on April 2, 2022. They excavated mass graves, retrieved bodies, and identified them.
"Whether I was a journalist or a volunteer when I did that, I don't have a definitive answer. I understand that when a war correspondent works in another country, where there is a war, they remain a journalist. But when there is a war in their own country, they are still on the side of their own country. That was my first ethical barrier: should I emphasize my country's perspective or remain neutral? I couldn't remain neutral," says Yevhen Spirin.
The majority of the casualties in Bucha were killed by firearms. In the first stage, the journalists found mass graves and retrieved the bodies. In the second stage, they retrieved individuals, photographed and described them. In the third stage, they had to describe all the bodies that were found.
"Everything got mixed up; the bodies deteriorated, and it was unclear who these people were. It's worth noting that the capacity of the Bucha morgue is 20 bodies per month, but when they brought in 400 bodies, the morgue couldn't handle it, so they distributed some of them throughout the region. For example, to Bila Tserkva (town in Kyiv region)," continues editor.
Based on the collected information, "The Babel" is developing an online memorial to honor the memory of those who perished in Bucha. Special attention has been given to the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle, where the largest number of burials were found.
"We tracked down everyone we could find from the communal grave. That's 116 people and several packages containing remains. We marked points on an interactive map where these people were killed," explained Yevhen Spirin.
An important part of creating the map is the reconstruction of the burial and identification process to determine who exactly lies in these graves since many people died at different times. Some of those buried in the communal graves were those who died before the full-scale invasion but were in the Bucha morgue on February 24.
"This project is intended to call people by their names, not as individuals who were killed, as they like to say in the police," emphasizes Spirin.
"Did we have the right to photograph the dead, show these photos, or disclose their information? I believe there are mythical rules of ethics and there is the truth. And we chose the truth. And we will show it."
In general, during the process of documenting war crimes and communicating with the relatives of the deceased, every detail matters because it contributes to the complete picture.
"
I think we have a certain history, and it is based, in fact, on the truth. But you can't make up or tell it differently than it was. First and foremost, out of respect for people. Survivors, in particular, want the truth the most. They don't want exaggeration. They don't want another story," emphasizes founder and CEO at Public Interest Journalism Lab
Nataliya Gumenuk.
Once, she arranged an interview with a resident of the de-occupied Chernihiv region (the northern part of the country), saying: "Your mother-in-law said that you saw how they shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war."
"He corrected me immediately in the phone conversation in the first second, saying, 'I didn't see it — my eyes were blindfolded. I heard.' For him, it was important for the story to remain as it is. Because then no one can refute it," explains Gumenuk.
In this case, the journalist becomes a direct transmitter of the truth, with a great responsibility to document everything as it is, especially when media professionals strive during wartime to uncover war crimes and ensure that their perpetrators are punished. There is no room for mistakes here.
Language of War
One of the panels at the media conference in Bucha focused on the experience of international reporters working in Ukraine. Among the participants were
Isabelle Khurshudyan, head of the Ukrainian bureau of The Washington Post;
Myroslava Gongadze, director of Voice of America in Eastern Europe;
Matthew Luxmoore, correspondent for The Wall Street Journal; and
Marc Santora, international news editor at The New York Times. Moderator was
Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of The Kyiv Inderendent.
When it comes to the language of war, from the early days of the full-scale invasion to each subsequent day, it is important not to substitute concepts and not to consciously or unconsciously use the language of the aggressor. An example of this was the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before February 24, 2022, Putin stated that a "special military operation" would be carried out, thereby trivializing and substituting the concept of war, and also prohibiting his citizens from using the term "war" in the public sphere. Many world media outlets picked up on this trend and incorporated Putin's propaganda-driven substitution of concepts into their headlines, thereby legitimizing Putin's words for their large audiences. Perhaps for a journalist who is not a citizen of Ukraine and lacks empathy at the same level, this may seem insignificant, but in the conditions of war, language legitimizes the regime, legitimizes crimes, and legitimizes narratives. And then come new shelling and propaganda manipulations.
The panel participants in Bucha agreed that despite the initial mistakes, organizations need to adjust their position and not take the "easy way" by using the language of terrorists, which blurs the situation. They should not echo Putin's "special military operation" to describe the war.
"In newsrooms, there should be an ongoing conversation about language and formulation, especially when it comes to conflict situations. Journalists and editors must recognize the importance of accuracy and objectivity in their statements," emphasizes Myroslava Gongadze.
Ukraine has already gained a certain level of attention that is likely to persist in the near future. But according to Myroslava Gongadze, the constant attacks on Kyiv and other cities, as well as similar events we have repeatedly encountered, no longer evoke shock. This is what journalists should pay attention to. The war is not abstract; it is not an "internal Ukrainian problem" (especially since Ukrainian refugees are now found worldwide, and countries also have to deal with it), because every day it affects real people, their lives, and has an impact on society as a whole.
Currently, there is a tendency in media publications to expand the range of topics related to Ukraine. Now, in addition to military actions and war crimes, foreign publications are increasingly paying attention to the social and geopolitical aspects of the conflict's impact on Ukrainian society. For example, The Guardian recently published an article about the mental health of Ukrainian soldiers and their families. Volunteer movements, social problems, and other topics are beginning to find their place in the media.
Matthew Luxmoore says that for the external audience, particularly readers in the United States or the United Kingdom, some topics about Ukraine become monotonous. Therefore, one of the main tasks of journalists who write for an external audience is to constantly update the topic and seek new perspectives. This way, people will understand that the conflict is ongoing.
The threat of normalizing the perception of events is one of the biggest challenges. Journalists need to find ways to tell the story in a way that people will continue to listen. This allows for a deeper understanding of the situation and expands the image of the country in the global media space.
Furthermore, for a long time, an important factor in the rhetoric about Ukraine was that most foreign correspondents were based in Moscow, including Matthew Luxmoore and Isabelle Khurshudyan.
Isabelle Khurshudyan says that Russia was considered the dominant force in the eastern region. Any neighboring country was seen in the context of Moscow's position, and Russian history has long been of more interest to the American audience. Now it is important to remember that the thoughts and attitudes of Russians towards Ukraine can vary, and they do not always align with Western perceptions.
"Today it is crucial for journalists to be constantly present in Ukraine. This allows them to meet with Ukrainian sources and personally experience the situation. It adds depth to their reports that cannot be achieved from a distance. Such information helps understand the thoughts and feelings of Ukrainians," she notes.
How life wins
Perhaps for the first time in almost a year and a half since the start of the full scale invasion, journalists had the opportunity to gather on such a large scale and share their experiences, reflections, and simply rejoice cause we are alive.
After the conference, I went into the town. Bucha has undergone significant changes over the past decade: many new residential complexes have been built, infrastructure has improved, small and medium-sized businesses have emerged, and living with the scent of the forest outside your window is a wonderful plan for those who are tired of the large and noisy Kyiv.
Bucha has united long-time residents, young families, and residents from other regions and even countries. At that time, the city was paralyzed by occupation and inhuman crimes, torture, and abuse of animals and all living beings. But now, most residents, even those who left the country, have returned. Large shopping centers are working and people buying stuff for their home, children are playing football in the courtyard, not far from the place where the effects of a bombed house can still be seen.
Overall, the events of spring 2022 are still visible in a few areas, with occasional shattered streetlights or bullet-riddled billboards.
But most importantly, the war will live on in the residents until the killers are brought to justice, and the media community, law enforcement, and local authorities continue their work to identify every victim and hold the perpetrators accountable, no matter how long it takes...
KATERYNA GLADKA*
Kateryna Gladka, born in Kyiv, Ukraine in 1990, is a storyteller, journalist, publicist, and creator of cultural projects.
She completed her education at Shevchenko National University in Kyiv and Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, both in journalism. Gladka's work has appeared in various Ukrainian and international media outlets. She co-authored three books: the "Heavenly Hundred" in 2015, "Dobrobaty" in 2017, and a collection of short prose titled "Path (to) Roma" in 2020. In 2019, she took second place in the "Essay" category of the Open Eurasia competition. Gladka founded an author's course on innovative ideas in Ukrainian culture in the 20th century, titled “Our Atlantis,” in collaboration with public space between 2020-2021. In 2022, she worked to support women affected by the war, providing body and consciousness practices in Budapest and Ukraine. Gladka has won literary contests and created artistic and cultural projects with writers and musicians.
Bucha, a green town near Kyiv, has always been a special place with the scent of pine forests, numerous recreational bases, and pleasant tranquility away from the hustle and bustle of the capital. Over time, more and more people started moving closer to nature. Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel became oases for young families and the creative class. Over a year ago, the world had no idea what Bucha meant, but now this picturesque place is associated with the inhumane terror inflicted by Russian occupiers on its territory.
For the first time since those events, the media community initiated a large conference under the open sky—Bucha Journalism Converence in the center of the city park to share thoughts and reflections, attempting to make sense of something that is difficult to comprehend as humans. Bucha Journalism Conference aims to empower journalists and media professionals to fulfill their mission by providing a platform for open dialogue, education, and collaboration.
My goal was to feel the time and place, to understand what is happening with a process of memorization and how the residents feel now. So, for me, this was also the first visit since the start of the full-scale invasion in Bucha.
Participants from Ukraine and around the world gradually gathered in the large amphitheater while the voices of birds drowned out the surroundings. Everything was immersed in greenery, incredibly clean, and local children were playing nearby. It's amazing how nature reminds us that life is always stronger, that it engulfs all the horrors witnessed and transforms them into an overwhelming desire to continue living, to endure.
Ethics and the Return of Names
"Our goal is to make these pieces of evidence that have been collected become testimonies in The Hague through the joint efforts of journalism, law enforcement agencies, and local authorities. And maybe when they talk about an international tribunal, it won't be Nuremberg or The Hague but Bucha. We would like the perpetrators of crimes committed in Ukraine to be held accountable right here in our place," begins Mikhaylina Skoryk, a former journalist, media manager, and current deputy mayor of Bucha.
Currently, the official number of people killed by russian occupants in Bucha is 422 , but the information is being updated, and it is possible that this number may increase. The process of documenting crimes is ongoing, with 80 bodies still unidentified, and these are particularly brutal crimes for which no one has been held accountable, and the identities of the deceased remain unknown. Mikhaylina Skoryk hopes that this conference will become an annual event and expand to an international level to transform this open-air site of war crimes into a tribunal.
The chief editor of the media "The Babel" Yevhen Spirin arrived in Bucha with part of his team on April 2, 2022. They excavated mass graves, retrieved bodies, and identified them.
"Whether I was a journalist or a volunteer when I did that, I don't have a definitive answer. I understand that when a war correspondent works in another country, where there is a war, they remain a journalist. But when there is a war in their own country, they are still on the side of their own country. That was my first ethical barrier: should I emphasize my country's perspective or remain neutral? I couldn't remain neutral," says Yevhen Spirin.
The majority of the casualties in Bucha were killed by firearms. In the first stage, the journalists found mass graves and retrieved the bodies. In the second stage, they retrieved individuals, photographed and described them. In the third stage, they had to describe all the bodies that were found.
"Everything got mixed up; the bodies deteriorated, and it was unclear who these people were. It's worth noting that the capacity of the Bucha morgue is 20 bodies per month, but when they brought in 400 bodies, the morgue couldn't handle it, so they distributed some of them throughout the region. For example, to Bila Tserkva (town in Kyiv region)," continues editor.
Based on the collected information, "The Babel" is developing an online memorial to honor the memory of those who perished in Bucha. Special attention has been given to the Church of St. Andrew the Apostle, where the largest number of burials were found.
"We tracked down everyone we could find from the communal grave. That's 116 people and several packages containing remains. We marked points on an interactive map where these people were killed," explained Yevhen Spirin.
An important part of creating the map is the reconstruction of the burial and identification process to determine who exactly lies in these graves since many people died at different times. Some of those buried in the communal graves were those who died before the full-scale invasion but were in the Bucha morgue on February 24.
"This project is intended to call people by their names, not as individuals who were killed, as they like to say in the police," emphasizes Spirin.
"Did we have the right to photograph the dead, show these photos, or disclose their information? I believe there are mythical rules of ethics and there is the truth. And we chose the truth. And we will show it."
In general, during the process of documenting war crimes and communicating with the relatives of the deceased, every detail matters because it contributes to the complete picture.
"I think we have a certain history, and it is based, in fact, on the truth. But you can't make up or tell it differently than it was. First and foremost, out of respect for people. Survivors, in particular, want the truth the most. They don't want exaggeration. They don't want another story," emphasizes founder and CEO at Public Interest Journalism Lab Nataliya Gumenuk.
Once, she arranged an interview with a resident of the de-occupied Chernihiv region (the northern part of the country), saying: "Your mother-in-law said that you saw how they shot a Ukrainian prisoner of war."
"He corrected me immediately in the phone conversation in the first second, saying, 'I didn't see it — my eyes were blindfolded. I heard.' For him, it was important for the story to remain as it is. Because then no one can refute it," explains Gumenuk.
In this case, the journalist becomes a direct transmitter of the truth, with a great responsibility to document everything as it is, especially when media professionals strive during wartime to uncover war crimes and ensure that their perpetrators are punished. There is no room for mistakes here.
Language of War
One of the panels at the media conference in Bucha focused on the experience of international reporters working in Ukraine. Among the participants were Isabelle Khurshudyan, head of the Ukrainian bureau of The Washington Post; Myroslava Gongadze, director of Voice of America in Eastern Europe; Matthew Luxmoore, correspondent for The Wall Street Journal; and Marc Santora, international news editor at The New York Times. Moderator was Olga Rudenko, editor-in-chief of The Kyiv Inderendent.
When it comes to the language of war, from the early days of the full-scale invasion to each subsequent day, it is important not to substitute concepts and not to consciously or unconsciously use the language of the aggressor. An example of this was the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Before February 24, 2022, Putin stated that a "special military operation" would be carried out, thereby trivializing and substituting the concept of war, and also prohibiting his citizens from using the term "war" in the public sphere. Many world media outlets picked up on this trend and incorporated Putin's propaganda-driven substitution of concepts into their headlines, thereby legitimizing Putin's words for their large audiences. Perhaps for a journalist who is not a citizen of Ukraine and lacks empathy at the same level, this may seem insignificant, but in the conditions of war, language legitimizes the regime, legitimizes crimes, and legitimizes narratives. And then come new shelling and propaganda manipulations.
The panel participants in Bucha agreed that despite the initial mistakes, organizations need to adjust their position and not take the "easy way" by using the language of terrorists, which blurs the situation. They should not echo Putin's "special military operation" to describe the war.
"In newsrooms, there should be an ongoing conversation about language and formulation, especially when it comes to conflict situations. Journalists and editors must recognize the importance of accuracy and objectivity in their statements," emphasizes Myroslava Gongadze.
Ukraine has already gained a certain level of attention that is likely to persist in the near future. But according to Myroslava Gongadze, the constant attacks on Kyiv and other cities, as well as similar events we have repeatedly encountered, no longer evoke shock. This is what journalists should pay attention to. The war is not abstract; it is not an "internal Ukrainian problem" (especially since Ukrainian refugees are now found worldwide, and countries also have to deal with it), because every day it affects real people, their lives, and has an impact on society as a whole.
Currently, there is a tendency in media publications to expand the range of topics related to Ukraine. Now, in addition to military actions and war crimes, foreign publications are increasingly paying attention to the social and geopolitical aspects of the conflict's impact on Ukrainian society. For example, The Guardian recently published an article about the mental health of Ukrainian soldiers and their families. Volunteer movements, social problems, and other topics are beginning to find their place in the media.
Matthew Luxmoore says that for the external audience, particularly readers in the United States or the United Kingdom, some topics about Ukraine become monotonous. Therefore, one of the main tasks of journalists who write for an external audience is to constantly update the topic and seek new perspectives. This way, people will understand that the conflict is ongoing.
The threat of normalizing the perception of events is one of the biggest challenges. Journalists need to find ways to tell the story in a way that people will continue to listen. This allows for a deeper understanding of the situation and expands the image of the country in the global media space.
Furthermore, for a long time, an important factor in the rhetoric about Ukraine was that most foreign correspondents were based in Moscow, including Matthew Luxmoore and Isabelle Khurshudyan.
Isabelle Khurshudyan says that Russia was considered the dominant force in the eastern region. Any neighboring country was seen in the context of Moscow's position, and Russian history has long been of more interest to the American audience. Now it is important to remember that the thoughts and attitudes of Russians towards Ukraine can vary, and they do not always align with Western perceptions.
"Today it is crucial for journalists to be constantly present in Ukraine. This allows them to meet with Ukrainian sources and personally experience the situation. It adds depth to their reports that cannot be achieved from a distance. Such information helps understand the thoughts and feelings of Ukrainians," she notes.
How life wins
Perhaps for the first time in almost a year and a half since the start of the full scale invasion, journalists had the opportunity to gather on such a large scale and share their experiences, reflections, and simply rejoice cause we are alive.
After the conference, I went into the town. Bucha has undergone significant changes over the past decade: many new residential complexes have been built, infrastructure has improved, small and medium-sized businesses have emerged, and living with the scent of the forest outside your window is a wonderful plan for those who are tired of the large and noisy Kyiv.
Bucha has united long-time residents, young families, and residents from other regions and even countries. At that time, the city was paralyzed by occupation and inhuman crimes, torture, and abuse of animals and all living beings. But now, most residents, even those who left the country, have returned. Large shopping centers are working and people buying stuff for their home, children are playing football in the courtyard, not far from the place where the effects of a bombed house can still be seen.
Overall, the events of spring 2022 are still visible in a few areas, with occasional shattered streetlights or bullet-riddled billboards.
But most importantly, the war will live on in the residents until the killers are brought to justice, and the media community, law enforcement, and local authorities continue their work to identify every victim and hold the perpetrators accountable, no matter how long it takes...
