Ukrinform

Ukrinform is the National News Agency of Ukraine, a state information service whose modern identity traces back to the Bureau of Ukrainian Press, established in 1918 during the Ukrainian War of Independence. Over more than a century, the organization has operated under several names and administrative arrangements, reflecting the political history of Ukraine: the Ukrainian Telegraph Agency, the All-Ukrainian bureau of the Russian Telegraph Agency, the Radio-Telegraph Agency of Ukraine, the Ukrainian National Informational Agency, and the State Informational Agency of Ukraine. The name Ukrinform was restored in 2000. The agency's core role is to report on Ukrainian public policy, government activity, social life, economics, culture, international affairs and security. It supplies news and audiovisual material to media organizations, broadcasters, public institutions, local authorities, foreign embassies, Ukrainian diplomatic missions and international outlets. Its output includes written reports, interviews, analytical and explanatory journalism, photographs, video, live coverage and other multimedia formats. Ukrinform publishes in Ukrainian, Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Polish, giving it both a domestic information function and an international communications role. Ukrinform is institutionally associated with the Ukrainian state but is described in its governing framework as operating independently of political parties and public organizations. Its position is therefore distinct from that of a private wire service: it acts as an official national news agency and a channel through which information about Ukraine is distributed to domestic and foreign audiences. This public role has become especially prominent during Russia's war against Ukraine, when the agency has covered military developments, government decisions, humanitarian conditions, diplomacy, reconstruction and international support. The agency participates in international news-agency cooperation through the European Alliance of News Agencies and the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies. In 2018 it concluded a news-exchange cooperation agreement with the Athens–Macedonian News Agency. Ukrinform also became part of Ukraine's Multimedia Broadcasting Platform in 2015, connecting the agency with the country's international broadcasting infrastructure. That wider ecosystem has included UATV and its successor, FREEДОМ, a Russian-language television and digital news service focused substantially on the Russo-Ukrainian War. Ukrinform's brand positioning rests on official authority, multilingual reach, rapid distribution and a broad public-information mandate. At the same time, its state ownership means that its institutional role is closely tied to Ukraine's national communications strategy. The Institute of Mass Information recommended Ukrinform as a reliable media outlet in March 2022. The agency remains active as a Ukrainian and international news provider, with its work increasingly delivered through websites, social platforms, video channels and other digital formats in addition to conventional news distribution.

Ukrinform's institutional history begins in 1918, when the Bureau of Ukrainian Press was established during the Ukrainian War of Independence. The organization was intended to gather and distribute information about Ukrainian political and public life at a time when control of communications was closely connected to the struggle for statehood. Dmytro Dontsov is identified as the first director when the agency operated under the name Ukrainian Telegraph Agency. The agency underwent repeated reorganizations during the twentieth century. In 1920 it became the All-Ukrainian bureau of the Russian Telegraph Agency, known as UkROSTA. In 1921 it was reorganized as the Radio-Telegraph Agency of Ukraine, or RATAU. During the Soviet period, the Ukrainian agency was associated with the Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union, commonly known as TASS, and its role was shaped by the centralized Soviet information system. Following the restoration of Ukrainian independence, the agency was renamed the Ukrainian National Informational Agency, or UKRINFORM, in 1990. In 1996 it took the name State Informational Agency of Ukraine, abbreviated DINAU. The Ukrinform name was restored in 2000, establishing the principal brand under which the agency operates today. The agency's public mandate includes reporting on government policy, public life and events in Ukraine, as well as supplying information to state bodies and media organizations. A Cabinet of Ministers decree dated February 19, 1997 stated that the agency should conduct its activities independently of political parties and public organizations. This framework expresses the tension inherent in Ukrinform's position: it is a state institution and official national news provider, while its operating mandate also emphasizes institutional independence from partisan organizations. Ukrinform developed an international role through multilingual publication and cooperation with foreign news agencies. It became Ukraine's representative in the European Alliance of News Agencies and the Black Sea Association of National News Agencies. In 2018 it signed a cooperation agreement with the Athens–Macedonian News Agency covering the exchange of news items across categories. Its daily output has been distributed in Ukrainian, Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Polish, reaching domestic audiences as well as foreign media, diplomatic missions and public institutions. A major organizational development came in 2015, when Ukrinform became part of Ukraine's Multimedia Broadcasting Platform. This platform has included international television and digital initiatives, notably UATV and the Russian-language channel FREEДОМ. FREEДОМ broadcasts live through digital, satellite and cable channels and focuses heavily on the Russo-Ukrainian War; related platform activity has expanded Ukraine's international and Russian-language communications capacity. The agency's importance increased sharply after Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022. Ukrinform provided continuing coverage of the war, government decisions, diplomacy, military developments, humanitarian issues and international assistance. Its work has also exposed its staff to wartime risks. On February 25, 2025, Tetiana Kulyk, an editor-in-chief of the multimedia department and host of the Nation of Invincibles project, was killed in a nighttime Russian drone attack on her home. Ukrinform remains an active state news agency and international broadcaster, distributing text, photography, video and other digital content through its website and wider media channels.

1. 2018News-exchange agreement with ANA-MPA

   Ukrinform signed a cooperation agreement with the Athens–Macedonian News Agency to exchange news across categories.

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2. 2015Joined Ukraine's Multimedia Broadcasting Platform

   Ukrinform became part of the Multimedia Broadcasting Platform of Ukraine.

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3. 2000Ukrinform name restored

   The organization returned to the Ukrinform name used by its contemporary brand.

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4. 1996Renamed DINAU

   The agency became the State Informational Agency of Ukraine.

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5. 1990Name changed to UKRINFORM

   After the transition toward Ukrainian independence, the agency adopted the name Ukrainian National Informational Agency.

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6. 1921RATAU established

   The organization was reorganized as the Radio-Telegraph Agency of Ukraine.

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7. 1920Reorganized as UkROSTA

   The agency became the All-Ukrainian bureau of the Russian Telegraph Agency.

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8. 1918Bureau of Ukrainian Press established

   The organization that later became Ukrinform was founded as the Bureau of Ukrainian Press during the Ukrainian War of Independence.

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A state-owned national news agency combining official Ukrainian public-information coverage with multilingual international news distribution and multimedia broadcasting.

• Ukrinform news serviceNews agency

  The agency's principal service distributes reports on Ukrainian politics, government, public life, economics, culture, international affairs, security and humanitarian developments. Content is supplied to media, broadcasters, public institutions, diplomatic missions and other professional users, with publication in multiple languages.

• Ukrinform photo and video serviceMultimedia journalism

  Ukrinform produces photographs, video reports, interviews, live coverage and other multimedia journalism alongside written dispatches. These formats support both the agency's direct digital publishing and its role as a supplier of audiovisual material to media organizations and broadcasters.

• Multilingual editionsInternational news

  Ukrinform publishes material in Ukrainian, Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Japanese and Polish. The language network extends the agency's reach beyond Ukraine and supports communication with foreign media, governments, diplomatic missions and international audiences.

• FREEДОМTelevision and digital broadcasting

  FREEДОМ is a Russian-language television and digital news channel within Ukraine's international multimedia broadcasting system, with a strong focus on the Russo-Ukrainian War. It is distributed through its website, satellite and cable operators, with additional English-language material available on YouTube.

• Nation of Invincibles

  Ukraine · International

  A patriotic multimedia project hosted by Ukrinform multimedia editor Tetiana Kulyk, highlighting Ukrainian resilience and national endurance.

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• 2018Cooperation agreement with the Athens–Macedonian News AgencyStrategy

  International news-agency partnerships enable reciprocal reporting and wider distribution of national news.

  What changed. Ukrinform signed an agreement with the Athens–Macedonian News Agency to exchange news items across categories.

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• 2015Integration into the Multimedia Broadcasting Platform of UkraineStrategy

  Ukraine sought to coordinate international broadcasting and public communications across television, digital and news-agency formats.

  What changed. Ukrinform became part of the Multimedia Broadcasting Platform of Ukraine, linking its news-agency work with the country's international broadcasting infrastructure.

  Aftermath. The integration placed Ukrinform within a broader multimedia ecosystem that included UATV and later FREEДОМ.

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• 2025Ukrinform editor Tetiana Kulyk killed in Russian drone attack

  Tetiana Kulyk, editor-in-chief of Ukrinform's multimedia department and host of the patriotic Nation of Invincibles project, was killed in a Russian nighttime drone attack on her home on February 25, 2025.

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• 2022Institute of Mass Information recommends Ukrinform as a reliable outlet

  In March 2022, Ukraine's Institute of Mass Information included Ukrinform among media outlets it recommended as reliable sources during the full-scale war.

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1. Ukrinform
2. Ukrinform official website