Worldwide media coverage of the war in Ukraine is needed “even more than before” to give the country’s citizens a “chance to win”, its president has told a UK conference.
Present Volodymyr Zelensky gave a special address to 150 attendees at the Society of Editors conference in London on Wednesday.
He told journalists in the room - including Daily Mirror editor Alison Phillips and the BBC ’s Clive Myrie - coverage is essential so Russia’s crimes in Ukraine are not forgotten.
Zelensky added: “Now more than ever your ability is needed to give voice to life.
“It is needed for Ukraine to say “we can win” and for Ukrainians to say we can restore justice, so the terrorist state feels it will be punished, so our partners in the world hear Ukraine is grateful for support.
“Regardless of what time it is – happy or dramatic, peace or war, every moment is made up of human stories, of what people lived through and experienced, gained and lost, felt and achieved.
“Time passes and, in passing, it can carry away everything so dear to people and to humanity as such.
“Being able to fill life with words is being able to protect life and fight for it and give life a chance to win.
“I urge you to come to Ukraine, to spread the truth about Russian aggression, support our defence and give Ukrainian life a voice.”
He added since the start of the Russian invasion of his country Ukraine has issued more than 15,000 accreditations to foreign journalists from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas.
He said: “I am glad there are many British representatives among them.
“We opened Ukrainian life up to the maximum number of eyes for the world to see and for the world to tell the story and for the world to give voice to Ukrainian life.”
During the conference Clive Myriewas presented with a Special Fellowship Award for Outstanding Contribution to Journalism.
Tens of thousands of lives have so far been lost since Putin ordered the brutal invasion of its peaceful neighbour last year.
It comes as it was reported Vladimir Putin is suffering "extremely heavy casualties" in Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of the country.
The ongoing conflict between the Russian ministry of defence and the rebel Wagner group over the city in Donetsk Oblast, has likely reached a “boiling point”, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The city, which has been the site of violence for several weeks, is also significant for Moscow's efforts to advance its invasion.
According to The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysis, the Russian Ministry of Defense is deliberately expending “both elite and convict Wagner forces in Bakhmut in an effort to weaken [Yevgeny] Prigozhin and derail his ambitions for greater influence in the Kremlin”.
