Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Oleksandr Turchynov awarded the media representatives with the NSDC awards

The NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov awarded the Ukrainian media representatives with the NSDC awards for countering Russia's information aggression.

Secretary of the NSDC of Ukraine in his welcome speech, addressing the journalists stated that information war is an extremely dangerous element of the hybrid war waged by Russia against Ukraine. «It strives to destroy the system of social relations, break the foundation on which the society's trust to its own country, spread irritation, despair, panic, and fear. But the main thing in the end is to ensure that people are unable or do not want to resist the aggressor», - Oleksandr Turchynov noted.

According to him, modern Russia inherited from the Soviet Union a broad arsenal of information warfare, and this arsenal was improved significantly. He also added that the Ukrainian experience shows the formula elaborately worked out by Russia: «First, Russian media come, later come Russian tanks».

«We have the heroes of the information front who on their own initiative counter information aggression of the Russian Federation. The main weapon in the information war with Russia is the truth», - Oleksandr Turchynov said, expressing gratitude to the journalists for their professional work.

The NSDC awards were presented to producer of TV projects at the «ICTV» channel Oksana Dykhnich - for «Anti-zombie» and «Civil Defense» («Grazhdanskaya oborona») programs.

Also, the awards were given to Maxim Shylenko, head of the department of journalistic investigations of the "1+1" TV channel - for the series of programs «Bravehearts» («Horobri sercya») about the events in the East of Ukraine, the true heroes, and Oleg Kryshtopa, scriptwriter presenter at the «5th channel» - for the historical educational-informative project «The Time Machine» («Mashyna Chiasu»).

Moreover, the NSDC awards were presented to the «Ukrainian Radio» journalists Nina Zhezhera, for the daily program «Field Post» («Polyova Poshta») targeted at the military servicemen of all state armed units, which for several decades has been broadcast on the Ukrainian radio, and Eugenia Kalayda, for the «Present Time» («Nastojashchee Vremya») program broadcast on the occupied territory of the Crimea and Donbas as well as on the part of the Russian Federation to the Urals.