I believe that covering the resilience of our community is the least we can and must do to support people's faith.
The only
Material
adapting to the realities of life. And while some stories are difficult to write, others inspire hope and pride. For instance, the story of the director of our school, who was imprisoned by the Russians for over a month for her patriotism, was later submitted for the Global Teacher Prize Ukraine competition. She became the winner of the 2023 award in the "Resilience" category.
Kupyansk was occupied, and the information vacuum created by the Russians was unbearable. That’s why today, despite everything, media must continue their work,
I have always enjoyed writing about people's lives, and stories of talented locals, and reporting local events that inspired me to delve deeper into the history of my homeplace. Today, our editorial team serves as a bridge between evacuated people and military administrations. We inform about humanitarian aid and prepare materials to help displaced persons adapt. Of course, we can't avoid the constant coverage of shelling, destruction, and evacuations. For news content, we only use official sources to avoid compromising the military.
However, most of the challenges are moral. I have to write many materials that involve sensitive journalism. Conversations with people who have lost loved ones, children, or property are always difficult. Even in the simplest publications, I’ve started using trigger words, like "home" — I try to avoid this word altogether in my articles to avoid re-traumatising those who have lost their homes.
Cooperate with Olga
I have an economic education, and I came to journalism when I was hired as an accountant at the editorial office of the municipal newspaper "Visnyk Kup'yanshchyny." Communication with colleagues was so engaging that I began writing myself. After spending over 20 years in the editorial team, going through all the reforms and the process of media privatization, I realised that this newspaper is an important part of the history of Kupyansk, and that the work of my colleagues over more than 100 years must be preserved and further developed for future generations.
Before the war, these would have been stories about the people developing the community, but today my focus has shifted to materials about the fallen and the victims of the Russian occupation.
Director of LLC "RIA "Visnyk Kupyanshchyny," a city-district civic and political newspaper.
As editor-in-chief of the local newspaper, Poltavets continued to keep the local media running and actively disseminated news despite constant shelling and temporary occupation.
Olga
Poltavets