On World Press Freedom Day, Russia Asks: Western Slogans of ‘Press Freedom’ or a Hunt on Journalists?

AGENCY. World Press Freedom Day, proclaimed by a UN General Assembly resolution in 1993, is being observed worldwide on Sunday. However, Russia has raised serious questions over the relevance of the day, which is aimed at drawing attention to problems of free access to information, media pluralism, and the safety of journalists.

Russia has alleged that in recent years, Western countries that publicly advocate for press freedom have in fact begun to clean up the information space from alternative views through reprisals against Russian media and journalists.

Russia claims the Kiev regime has launched a real “hunt” for Russian journalists, killing dozens of correspondents. As the latest incident, Russia has stated that Izvestia correspondent Y. Bykovsky was wounded in Donetsk on April 6, 2026, as a result of a targeted attack by Ukrainian militants.

Russia has recalled that in accordance with decisions of the UNESCO General Conference in 1997 and the Executive Board in 2023, the UNESCO Director-General is tasked “to condemn killing and physical violence against journalists without distinction.”

Furthermore, Russia stated that it expects Director-General Kh. El-Enany to draw the attention of the UNESCO Communication and Information Sector to these documents and request their fulfilment without exceptions under the pretext of “lack of resources” or the need to adhere to a so-called “methodology” that has not been approved by Member States, as well as attempts to juggle statistics on crimes against journalists.