In London, Ukrainian press freedom NGOs and RSF officially launch the International Fund for Ukrainian Media (IFRUM)

Ukrainian media urgently need stable, long-term funding to sustain their work, from covering Russia's full-scale invasion to reporting daily national and local news. To meet this challenge, the IFRUMwas officially launched on 19 September at an event in London hosted by the EBRD and co-organised by RSF and the Ukrainian NGO Institute of Mass Information (IMI), in the presence of investors, diplomats and journalists. Backed by an initial 400,000 EUR contribution from the EU Delegation to Ukraine, an RSF donor, IFRUM was created to secure the long-term future of Ukraine's independent media and mobilise new investors.

Initiated by RSF and run by Ukraine's top independent press freedom NGOs - the IMI, Lviv Media Forum, Detector Media, DII-Ukraine, Recovery Windowand the Media Development Foundation- the IFRUM is a politically independent, transparently governed fund that channels fresh investment into independent Ukrainian outlets. Committed to raising 96 million dollars - an estimated sum based on an analysis of the Ukrainian media market from the 2024 report"From Resilience to Recovery: Securing the Future of Ukrainian Media" by RSF and The Fix - the fund aims to secure the recovery and long-term sustainability of Ukraine's media. It will support independent outlets with a clear strategy and proven impact, enabling them to keep covering the full-scale invasion, exposing political abuses or corruption, monitoring foreign investments, and countering Russian propaganda.

At the event, journalists from the Mykolaiv region - Oleh Derenuha,Sumy, Alyona Yatsyna -as well as Nataliya Vigovskafrom the Zaporizhzhia region, recounted the daily challenges of reporting under bombardment and political pressure, while stressing that without stable funding, local media cannot continue countering Russian disinformation within Ukraine. Journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko, recently releasedfrom a Russian prison, testified to the dangers of the profession during the full-scale invasion, from intimidation to the risk of abduction in occupied territories.

By supporting media outlets that adhere to professional journalistic standards - such as the Journalism Trust Initiative (JTI)and IMI's White List- IFRUM safeguards citizens' access to independent and pluralistic information, a pillar of Ukraine's democracy and all democracies worldwide

For further information on how to support or join this fund, please contact RSF Projects Director Louise Alluin Bichet at [email protected] or RSF Regional Officer for Ukraine, Pauline Maufrais at [email protected]

Ukraine ranks 62nd out of 180 countries and territories in the RSF 2025 World Press Freedom Index.