New York, February 26, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the killing of Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Kulyk, editor-in-chief of the multimedia editorial department of state news agency Ukrinform, in a Russian drone attack on February 26.
“The Russian drone strike that killed Ukrainian journalist Tetyana Kulyk just days after the grim three-year milestone of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is a tragic reminder of the risks that journalists living and working in the country face every day,” said CPJ’s program director, Carlos Martínez de la Serna. “CPJ is deeply saddened by Kulyk’s killing and expresses its sincere condolences to her family. We strongly condemn Russia’s targeting of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.”
Overnight Wednesday, a Russian drone hit Kulyk’s house in the village of Kriukivshchyna, in the Kyiv region, killing Kulyk and her husband Pavlo Ivanchov, a surgeon and medical university professor, according to a Ukrinform report, statements by Ivanchov’s university and the local Institute of Mass Information (IMI) press freedom group. Their bodies were recovered on later that day.
Kulyk was the author and host of a series of interviews, “Nation of the Invincible,” which focused on the resilience of Ukrainians during the Russia-Ukraine war.
“Tetyana Kulyk was a great journalist. She made many programs about our struggle and our heroes,” Ukrinform Director General Serhiy Cherevatyi said in a statement, adding, “We will avenge our colleague with materials that expose the war crimes of the aggressor.”
Cherevatyi told CPJ that Kulyk’s death was “yet another barbaric killing of an innocent civilian, our colleague,” and that “Russia must be held to account for each and every murder they commit.”
The Russian Defense Ministry did not respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.
At least 17 other journalists and media workers have been killed while reporting in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. In April 2022, Russian forces shelled a residential apartment building in the Shevchenko district of Kyiv, killing Vira Hyrych, a journalist for the U.S. Congress-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Ukrainian service. In April 2024, Russian forces shelled the southeast region of Zaporizhzhia, injuring Ukrinform reporter Olha Zvonaryova.