TRANSCRIPT:
My name is Alexander Yanevskyy and I have been a journalist with Voice of America’s Russian and Ukrainian services. I’ve reported on human rights, immigration and foreign affairs, and I’ve shared stories about America in ways that Russians and Ukrainians can relate to.
VOA has always been a source of objective and fact-based reports for Ukraine and Russia, even before their independence in the early ’90s. Soviet propaganda hated us.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, VOA has reached out to expose Kremlin disinformation. For example, after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that a neo-Nazi regime controlled Kyiv, VOA interviewed prominent Ukrainian Rabbi Mosha Azman, who directly refuted Putin’s claim.
On March 14, VOA, which had been providing honest news to the world for more than 80 years, stopped broadcasting. Our audience of more than 360 million people worldwide could no longer access the truth. The Russian propagandists cheered, applauding the decision to silence us.
When VOA was taken off the air, press freedom and freedom of speech died a little, too. And when these freedoms are gone, disinformation will gladly take their place. That’s why I urge you to help us save VOA.
Published
Yanevskyy joined VOA in 2014 and has covered a broad array of topics ranging from U.S. foreign policy and Ukrainian-Russian relations, to human rights, cyber issues and U.S. culture. Prior to VOA, Yanevskyy was working for the top ranked TV channel in Ukraine, 1+1, and on the main news channel, 5 Channel.