Galyna Ostapovets on War Reporting: Verifying Peace Talks, POW Exchanges, and Operational Security

Galyna Ostapovets is a Ukrainian journalist and war reporter currently based in Kyiv. She joined the Novyny.LIVE newsroom in June 2021 and, after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, shifted from politics to reporting the war’s societal consequences, producing articles and video coverage. She writes for Novyny Live and creates videos for its YouTube channel. IJNet profiled her as “Journalist of the Month” in April 2023. She contributes to international outlets including IJNet and the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. IWPR states she was born in Ukraine’s Lviv region and graduated from the International University of Economics and Humanities.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen interviews Galyna Ostapovets, a Kyiv-based Ukrainian war reporter for Novyny.LIVE and international outlets, profiled by IJNet as April 2023 “Journalist of the Month.” They focus on the mechanics of truth-finding amid diplomacy and human suffering: what was hardest to verify while reporting from Istanbul around Ukraine’s delegation and Umerov-led talks; whether she withholds publication until a second independent confirmation; and how she judges whether “humanitarian” agendas (POWs, abducted children) are real. Ostapovets also discusses trauma-informed rules for prisoner-exchange coverage, misunderstandings about captivity and return, and balancing disclosure with security in interviews with Andriy Yusov and Mark Rutte.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: When you were reporting from Istanbul around Ukraine’s delegation and the Umerov-led talks, what were hardest to verify?

Galyna Ostapovets: The news cycle in Istanbul was frantic. When news and statements come fast, it is always difficult to verify information. I usually check certain statements with two or three sources to ensure their accuracy. In addition, there were many Russian journalists in Istanbul who were reporting the news in a propagandistic style, and it was important for us Ukrainian journalists to immediately provide counter-information and refute their inaccurate data.

Jacobsen: Did you refuse to publish anything until you had a second independent confirmation?

Ostapovets: I never publish news unless I have verified its accuracy from two or three independent sources. With the frantic pace of news today, it is very easy to be misled by rumors or misinformation, publish the news, and receive a lot of likes and shares. However, this is not about integrity or journalistic standards. I would say that it is disgusting to capitalize on people's emotions in such difficult times, because for all of us Ukrainians, war is not a job, but first and foremost a very, very difficult life.

Jacobsen: Your coverage frames negotiations partly through humanitarian deliverables, i.e., POWs and abducted children. What signs tell you a humanitarian agenda is substantive?

Ostapovets: We thank our partners for their help in resolving issues related to prisoners of war and abducted children. But for us, as media representatives and, above all, as citizens of this country, it is important that this assistance be strengthened. After all, thousands of our soldiers and thousands of abducted children are still being held captive in Russia. They should all be at home with their families, not in Russian prisons or children's shelters.

Jacobsen: In your 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner-exchange reporting, what trauma-informed rules informed your work?

Ostapovets: All of us Ukrainians, journalists, military personnel, and ordinary people, are deeply traumatized by the war. It is not normal to live for four years under constant shelling and fear for your life. However, I do not feel any war trauma in my work, including during the large-scale exchange of 1,000 for 1,000. The main thing is not to traumatize the soldiers who are returning from captivity with questions. It's a very fine line. You should never ask how they were in captivity or ask about physical torture. After all, this causes them great pain.

Jacobsen: After covering multiple exchange stages, what is misunderstood in the public sphere about captivity and return?

Ostapovets: I haven't analyzed public opinion, but it seems to me that our society still doesn't know how to talk with prisoners properly. For example, when someone says to a prisoner, “I understand you”, that is very, very wrong. Because only someone who has been through captivity can understand them. In general, Ukrainian society is always very happy when prisoners are returned. We see this in the number of comments under the relevant posts and the spread of this news. They are like a light in this endless black tunnel of war.

Jacobsen: For the Andriy Yusov conversation, what is the line between public interest disclosure and operational security?

Ostapovets: In principle, interviews with intelligence officers, military personnel, and security services always straddle the line between information that is important to the public and information that is sensitive for Russians. After more than 10 years of war in Ukraine, we have all learned to strike a balance between telling people what we can and keeping secret information confidential.

After all, we Ukrainian journalists are not just working with the war. First and foremost, we are citizens of a country that is defending itself against Russian aggression, and we feel the war every day. Each of us has someone who is fighting, and worse, many of us have someone who has died in the war. We journalists experience rockets, drones, and all air attacks just as our citizens do. Therefore, no journalist who works constantly with the war will disclose information to the public that could harm their country and themselves personally.

Jacobsen: When intelligence officials make quantifiable claims, how do you pressure-test numbers ?

Ostapovets: Unfortunately, we are unable to verify the number of shahids or missiles produced by Russia, which I often ask our intelligence officers about in interviews. However, when it comes to the advance of Russian troops on the front line or the capture of certain settlements, this information is, of course, verified by several sources for accuracy.

Jacobsen: You questioned NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte directly in a formal NATO setting. What techniques help extract actionable specificity?

Ostapovets: There are no special techniques. As a journalist, I constantly follow the statements of world leaders, including the NATO Secretary General. In addition, I am constantly at NATO headquarters attending various meetings of alliance ministers. Therefore, I always have the opportunity to hear the original statements and news, and accordingly, I always have questions about them.

Jacobsen: Thank you very much for the opportunity and your time, Galyna.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen is the publisher of In-Sight Publishing (ISBN: 978-1-0692343) and Editor-in-Chief of In-Sight: Interviews (ISSN: 2369-6885). He writes for The Good Men Project, International Policy Digest (ISSN: 2332–9416), The Humanist (Print: ISSN 0018-7399; Online: ISSN 2163-3576), Basic Income Earth Network (UK Registered Charity 1177066), A Further Inquiry, and other media. He is a member in good standing of numerous media organizations.