1,000 days of full-scale war, what it means for journalism

November 19 marks 1000 days since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. More than 12,000 civilians in Ukraine are killed. Among them 13 journalists. Dozens of reporters are held in Russian prisons. The number of military casualties are tens of thousands.

The illegal war against Ukraine is followed by a massive wave of disinformation narratives and lies promoted by pro-Kremlin outlets inside Russia.

Free and independent journalism is the best way to debunk lies and propaganda.

Ukraine is geographically in far distance from areas covered by the Barents Observer. The war, however, caused a geopolitical earthquake for the North with rippling effects for nearly all topics we report on.

When Vladimir Putin in 2014 decided to annex Crimea and send armed forces into eastern Ukraine, we in the Barents Observer warned that this would cause trouble for cross-border cooperation between the Nordic countries and Russia. That made the FSB ask for a closure of our free journalism.

Today, the war is very close in distance as troops and weaponary used in the devastating onslaught in Ukraine are also sent from the Kola Peninsula. This Sunday, for instance, was almost all Tu-95MS long-range bombers from Olenya airfield south of Murmansk taking a lead role in the massive attack with cruise missiles against Ukraine's energy grid.

Journalists from the Barents Observer are banned from traveling to Russia, but we can still call and chat via internet. Below, for instance, you can read the interview with Dmitry Vasilets, a soldier from a garrison in Pechenga some 10 km from the border with Norway. In early 2022, he thought his troop was to participate in a military exercise in southern Russia. Suddenly they were ordered to attack Ukraine. Its a strong interview. Our mission is to continue providing you with insights from a country that are becoming more and more closed.

For that reason alone, the Kremlin is afraid of the Barents Observer.

Because fact-based journalism makes a difference. Truth is a dangerous 'weapon' against any autoritarian regime. In 2019, Russia's censorship agency, the Roskomnadzor, blocked the Barents Observer on internet. Since then, we have developed a wide-range of tools to circumnavigate censorship. Outsmarting Putin's repressive regime against media has become a technological mission for us. Today, six years on, we are proud to tell that we still have thousands of readers, viewers and listeners inside Russia. And yes, we trigger response. Take a look at this seven minutes story on GTRK Murman state TV Vesti on Sunday. The reportage is about our newsroom and is a failed attempt to discredit the exile-Russian journlists.

The Barents Observer will continue to strengthen our exile-journalists' hub in Norway. News in Russian language for readers inside Russia is more important then ever.

The Barents Observer is an independent and journalist-owned newspaper that depends on support from our readers. We have no payment walls and all our information is open and available.

Help us strengthen our cross-border journalism. Help us break through censorship walls and reach audiences in both East and West, on all sides of borders.

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Thomas Nilsen
Editor