IPI Applauds Release of Ukrainian Journalists from Russian Captivity, Urges Freedom for Nearly 30 More

August 28, 2025 – Ukraine/Russia – 

The International Press Institute (IPI) warmly welcomed the release of two Ukrainian journalists — Dmytro Khilyuk and Mark Kaliush — who were recently freed from Russian detention. The announcement on August 27, 2025, marked a hopeful moment in a long-standing humanitarian plight.

IPI celebrated the exchange as a positive but limited step toward restoring press freedom. While acknowledging the relief of seeing Khilyuk and Kaliush return home, IPI also renewed its urgent call for the immediate and unconditional release of nearly thirty additional journalists still held in Russia—many detained under questionable legal grounds or for their professional work.

The organisation stressed that this exchange underscores the ongoing crisis facing journalists who continue to face targeted persecution. In IPI’s view, the freedom of Dmytro Khilyuk and Mark Kaliush should not distract from the enduring issue: the systematic suppression of independent media voices and the troubling trend of using journalists as bargaining chips.

By spotlighting these two cases, IPI intends to keep international pressure high and maintain momentum toward freeing the broader cohort of unjustly detained journalists. Their message is clear: one act of liberation does not counterbalance the broader erosions of press freedom.

Reference – 

Ukraine: IPI welcomes exchange of two journalists held in Russia, demands release of nearly 30 others