At the end of the year, it is customary to sum up and make plans for the following year. Unfortunately, the results of 2022, in which Ukrainian journalists overnight became military correspondents, are terrible. During the ten months of full-scale war, the Russian occupiers killed 42 media workers (8 of whom died while performing an editorial task), 20 journalists were kidnapped, 14 disappeared, and 15 were injured. This statistic once again reminds us that the safety of journalists is important!

Journalists founded the 2402 Fund for journalists. On February 24, on the first day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, our main task was to find bulletproof vests and helmets for hundreds of Ukrainian journalists who were not ready to work in wartime conditions either physically or psychologically and, most importantly - were not provided with armor protection and instructed regarding safety.

The war was gaining momentum, along with the needs and requests of our colleagues, to which it was always very important for us to respond promptly. In this way, the main directions of the 2402 Fund were formed, which today look like this:

- Providing journalists with means of personal protection (body armor, helmets, first-aid kits), equipment, and satellite communication;
- Providing journalists with financial support, psychological support, and help in treatment;
- Conducting complete HEFAT trainings in tactical medicine, risk assessment, mine safety, and digital security;
- Assistance in evacuation and relocation.

During the ten months of the Great War, the 2402 Fund handed over 260 sets of body armor and helmets, about 220 tactical first-aid kits, two cars, satellite communicators, smartphones, and power banks to Ukrainian journalists. Financially ensured the treatment of two injured journalists while working in the war zone and economically supported several journalists on the verge of survival due to losing their jobs. The Fund also assisted in the evacuation of several families of reporters.

The editorial offices of Starlight Media, Public Television, RADA TV channel, ATP TV channel, NV, Donbas News, Inter TV channel, DOM, Mayak, Express Kryvyi Rih, Zaborona, and many other local publications received more than 200 sets of personal protective equipment from the 2402 Fund.

This would not be possible without the constant support of private donors, international friends, and partners. The Dutch organization Free Press Unlimited provided the Fund 2402 bulletproof vests, helmets, and tactical first-aid kits for Ukrainian media workers for EUR 164,300, and the British journalist support fund Rory Peck Trust donated tactical first-aid kits for EUR 12,000. Our friends from Saint Javelin provided two generators for 4,000 EUR.

Separately, the extensive HEFAT trainings for journalists covering the war in Ukraine is worth mentioning. More than 200 Ukrainian and foreign journalists learned how to survive in a hostile environment, provide first aid to themselves and their colleagues, and emergency evacuation from under fire. In practice, they worked out exercises and tactical behavior, immediately applying a vast array of new information. They listened to almost 100 hours of lectures, thanks to which they learned how to protect essential data on digital media and assess risks before going on a mission to a combat zone. At the end of the trainings, all participants received fully equipped tactical first-aid kits.

Fund 2402 held five HEFAT trainings in Kyiv and Odesa, thanks to the support of international partners Rory Peck Trust, Free Press Unlimited, ACOS Alliance, CPJ, and Saint Javelin.

Private initiatives of such well-known photographers as Mstislav Chernov, Sasha Maslov, and Brendan Hoffman draw attention to the activities of the Fund and the problem of the safety of journalists in Ukraine and direct funds from the sale of their works at exhibitions to support Ukrainian media workers. Community Photo Booth, a San Francisco Bay Area youth group that uses photography for charity, raised $2,000 for first-aid kits for journalists by organizing family photo sessions. The Print 4 Ukraine initiative from Canadian and Ukrainian photographers also collects money from the sale of works to benefit the 2402 Fund. And the international organization Reel Causes arranges screenings of Ukrainian films in Canada, and the proceeds from selling tickets for which are transferred to support Ukrainian journalists working in war conditions through Fund 2402.

Together with the Czech non-profit organization People In Need, we launched an initiative of free psychological support for journalists working in war conditions. Experienced Ukrainian and foreign psychologists, who work with psychological pressure, exhaustion, and injuries from a dangerous environment, help Ukrainian media workers cope with daily stress and moral fatigue and reduce tension.

Also, with the support of People In Need, the 2402 Fund created a practical video course on tactical medicine and safety for journalists according to the standards of the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Committee of the US Department of Defense. The course consists of 16 training videos and covers the most important topics and skills that must be mastered to work and survive in a hostile environment. Namely, how to examine a victim according to the MARCH protocol, what types of tourniquets exist, and how to apply them correctly. At the training, journalists are taught to stop bleeding with tamponade, check the patency of the airways, use occlusive stickers and Israeli bandages, and evacuate the wounded.

You can watch free videos on the Fund's YouTube channel.

In addition, so that the 2402 Fund can provide journalists with the best relevant experience, equipment, and recommendations - we collect complex work cases of media workers when something went wrong in their work or specific actions led to inevitable negative consequences. The provided information is used to create safety recommendations for the Foundation's training activities; it can be shared with other specialized organizations for the protection of journalists in a generalized form and with our partners and donors for an accurate explanation of what problems Ukrainian journalists face in fieldwork.