Ukrainian Service
Radio Svoboda is a trusted, award-winning outlet with a growing audience in Ukraine that provides comprehensive coverage of Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Website page views
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About the Service
Launched in 1954, RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda, is one of the most trusted media outlets in the country, with a 2024 survey showing a 92% trust rating among its audience.
28% of adults in Ukraine – 8.2 million people – get their news every week from Radio Svoboda.
Reporters provide breaking news directly from Kyiv, Lviv, and from the front lines of the war, covering military developments, the human cost of the conflict, and life in Russian-occupied territories.
In July 2025, the Service covered protests against controversial legislation that would have weakened Ukraine’s key anti-corruption agencies and interviewed government officials, including the head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. The Service’s coverage of protests garnered more than 3.5 million views across social media.
The Service’s films Silent Deportation and Bring Me Back Home document the stories of Crimean Tatars expelled from their homes and Ukrainian prisoners deported from Russia.
Radio Svoboda’s investigative unit, Schemes, uncovers official corruption in Ukraine and exposes Russian war crimes.
Holding the Ukrainian Government Accountable
Radio Svoboda and its investigative project, Schemes, hold the Ukrainian government accountable, with reporting that has led to internal investigations and the resignations of top officials, including Ukraine’s Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi.
Schemes investigations have exposed significant financial corruption, including luxury investments by officials in the United Arab Emirates and the sale of over $24 million in sanctioned Russian assets that bypassed Kyiv’s control.
Journalists uncovered bribes to a powerful Kyiv city council member to allow retail development in the capital.
Reaching Audiences
Media Climate
Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index ranks Ukraine 62nd out of 180 countries.
Since the start of the war, media activities in Ukraine have been subject to restrictions.
In August 2023, a Radio Svoboda crew escaped injury when its car was shelled in the Donetsk region. In the same month, correspondent Yevheniya Kytayiva and camera operator Hanna Kudriavtseva provided first aid to the Ukrainian military, saving lives.
Service correspondent Dmytro Yevchyn was wounded in shelling in Southern Ukraine in January 2024. He was filming along with a cameraman, Mykyta Isayko, when the attack occurred in Zaporizhzhya region.
On June 20, 2025, after more than four years in prison, RFE/RL Ukrainian Service journalist Vladyslav Yesypenko was released from prison. Vladyslav had been wrongfully imprisoned by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) since March 10, 2021, in Russia-occupied Crimea.
Awards
Order of Merit
In June 2025, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy awarded Radio Svoboda photo and war correspondent Serhiy Nuzhnenko with an Order of Merit (third degree) for his contributions to journalism.
Most Influential People
Kyiv Bureau Chief Natalie Sedletska was named among the 100 most influential people of the last decade by a prominent Ukrainian media outlet in May 2024.
Free Word Awards
At the Free Word Awards in Vilnius, Lithuania, a joint investigation from Schemes, RFE/RL’s Belarus Service, and the Belarusian Investigative Center into a Russian military “filtration” camp in Belarus won first prize in the Investigations category.
Knight International Journalism Awards
Schemes journalist Valeriya Yegoshyna received the Knight International Journalism Award in June 2024 for her “intrepid” investigative work uncovering war crimes, corruption, and a Russian paramilitary force.
Latest Updates
RFE/RL President Capus Meets Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, Discusses Imprisoned Journalist in Crimea
During a meeting on Sunday between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and RFE/RL President Stephen Capus, the Ukrainian leader commended RFE/RL’s coverage of the Russian invasion.
RFE/RL President and CEO Jamie Fly Visits Ukraine, Moldova as RFE/RL Expands Efforts to Counter Russian Disinformation
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) President and CEO Jamie Fly visited Moldova and Ukraine for meetings with senior officials, civil society groups, and the company’s journalists.
RFE/RL Wins 2022 Online News Association’s Online Journalism Award
RFE/RL has won a prestigious 2022 Online Journalism Award (OJA) for coverage of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Service Director
Maryana Drach
Maryana Drach is the Service Director of RFE/RL’s Ukrainian Service, known locally as Radio Svoboda, overseeing the Service’s award-winning coverage of the country’s 2013-2014 Maidan demonstrations, Revolution of Dignity, and developments since. Under her watch, the Service has launched the impactful anti-corruption reporting project “Schemes: Corruption in Details,” as well as multiple-media programming efforts for the residents of Russia-annexed Crimea (Crimea.Realities) and war-torn eastern Ukraine (Donbas.Realities). Drach is a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for Study of Journalism (2019-2020). A native of Kyiv, Drach joined the service in 1996, specializing in international affairs. She earned an undergraduate degree in international studies from Roosevelt University and holds a graduate degree in in Public Administration from the Institute of Public Administration and Local Government in Ukraine.
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