As of June 24, 2025, Vladyslav Yesypenko, a Ukrainian journalist unlawfully held for over four years, has been freed from Russian occupied Crimea. Yesypenko was a freelance contributor to Krym.Realii (a project of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty), when he was seized in March 2021 by Russia’s Federal Security Service. In a closed trial, after a forced confession (which he eventually renounced saying it was forced out of him through torture), Yesypenko was wrongfully sentenced to six years on fabricated charges. Yesypenko was deprived of independent legal assistance during his detention, and domestic and international observers were prohibited from his trial. Yesypenko’s case registered a Level 1 alert on the Council of Europe’s Platform for the Protection of Journalism, which reports serious threats to the safety and rights of media workers.

His release and reunion with his wife Kateryna and daughter Stefania in Prague mark an emotional moment for his family and for the international media freedom community that advocated for his case over the years

“The EFJ stood with Vladyslav throughout his unjust imprisonment,” said Ricardo Gutiérrez, EFJ General Secretary. “His freedom is not justice, it is only the end of an injustice. We repeat our clear demand: the immediate and unconditional release of all Ukrainian journalists detained by Russia. Journalism is not a crime.”

In June 2025, the EFJ’s General Meeting in Budapest unanimously adopted a motion calling for justice in the case of Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and for the release of all detained Ukrainian journalists. The motion underscores that “the freedom of detained Ukrainian journalists must become a strategic priority for international advocacy — no journalist should remain behind bars for telling the truth.”

Sergiy Tomilenko, President of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) and member of the EFJ Steering Committee, also welcomed the news: “Vladyslav is free — and that is truly a great moment. We are grateful to our colleagues at RFE/RL and Krym.Realii for keeping his case in the spotlight, and to all international partners who stood in solidarity. At NUJU, we awarded him our national Igor Lubchenko Prize for the Defense of Freedom of Speech and supported his family through these dark years. But our fight continues — dozens of our colleagues are still imprisoned by Russia, and each of them deserves justice.”

The EFJ joins RFE/RL, its Ukrainian affiliates NUJU and IMTUU, and international partners in celebrating Yesypenko’s release — and in recommitting to the global effort to defend journalists in danger.