The PR Army NGO held a press tour in Ukraine for Indonesian media journalists. The purpose of the event was to tell the Indonesian society the truth about modern Ukraine: the war, recovery, culture and people. The initiative is being implemented as part of the project “Free Speech: Ukraine and Indonesia” project with the support of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The press tour was attended by a film crew from Narasi TV, as well as journalists from Alif.ID and Suara Merdeka. The journalists started their five-day visit in Kyiv. They saw how the capital has adapted to life in the midst of war: shelters in the subway, street art, schools and businesses that continue to operate despite constant air raids.
The guests visited the Islamic Cultural Centre, talked to Mufti Sheikh Murat Suleymanov and leaders of the Crimean Tatar community. At the Ukrainian Institute, they had in-depth conversations with Refat Chubarov, Tamila Tasheva, Alim Aliyev and Akim Galimov. The Crimean Tatar school Birlik demonstrated an example of multicultural coexistence, and the Supreme Mufti of Crimea Aider Rustemov shared stories about destroyed mosques. The journalists also met with Muslims in the military.
During the press tour, the Indonesians talked to Ukrainian journalists, human rights activists, military personnel and those who had returned from captivity. In particular, the foreigners saw how Ukrainian society supports its defenders and had a conversation with Masi Nayem, a soldier of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and co-founder of the human rights centre for servicemen ‘Principle’ during the Superhumans Reunion’25 festival. Representatives of the Khanenko Museum also told Indonesian journalists about the destruction of cultural heritage by Russians.
As part of the visit, the Indonesian delegation visited Irpin and Bucha, cities that are symbols of Ukrainian resilience and became known worldwide after they were liberated from Russian occupation. The foreign journalists heard eyewitness accounts, saw destroyed houses, battlefields and mass graves.
In addition to visiting locations in Kyiv and the region, the Indonesians also visited Chernihiv region. In the village of Lukashivka, the journalists visited farms that had been affected by the war. In the village of Druzhba, they heard the testimony of a child who survived filtration and deportation after the Russian occupation of Mariupol.
“We are separated by thousands of kilometres, but the histories of Ukraine and Indonesia have a lot in common: colonial past, struggle for independence, authoritarianism, and transformation. This project is about finding this common ground and turning it into a real dialogue. This is not just diplomacy. It is a strategy for the future. In a world where support is formed not only by political decisions, but also by quality information and trust, dialogue becomes a strategic investment in the future,” Anastasia Marushevska, co-founder of the NGO PR Army, summed up the results of the trip.
The next stage of the project “Conversation of the Free: Ukraine and Indonesia” will take place in August 2025. Four Ukrainian journalists will travel to Indonesia to explore and understand this distant country even better.
For reference. PR Army is an independent Ukrainian non-profit organisation dedicated to raising awareness of the war and strengthening Ukraine’s image in the world.
The team advocates for the needs of and works with the global media and connects Ukrainian war witnesses, officials and experts on various topics with international journalists. PR Army’s mission is to help Ukraine win the information war against Russia and build Ukraine’s image as a democratic and independent European country. It was created a few hours after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.
Source: Detector Media
