Kyiv Independent Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko receives 2026 Georgiy Gongadze Prize

The Kyiv Independent is proud to announce that Editor-in-Chief Olga Rudenko has received the 2026 Georgiy Gongadze Prize, a national Ukrainian award honoring journalists who demonstrate innovation, impact, and commitment to the principles of independent journalism.

The annual award, named in honor of the late investigative journalist Georgiy Gongadze, recognizes professional achievement, consistency, and dedication to journalistic values.

Receiving the award, Rudenko said she was honored to have been nominated three times and described the recognition as reflecting the work of the Kyiv Independent team.

"I truly hope that this prize will always honor journalism that is not only good and high-quality, but also courageous and free," Rudenko said.

"This prize, given whose name it bears, brings together people who remain free and committed to the truth," she added.

"If a journalist is truly free, they can be controversial, make mistakes, and be disliked by many people. But they will never be compromised — like the journalist whose name brought us together here today."

Mykhailo Tkach, an investigative journalist with Ukrainska Pravda, was also named a 2026 laureate.

Established in 2019 by PEN Ukraine, the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School, and Ukrainska Pravda, the Georgiy Gongadze Prize honors long-term contributions to journalism and commitment to journalistic values.

The prize is named after Georgiy Gongadze, an investigative journalist and co-founder of Ukrainska Pravda who was killed in 2000.

A critic of then-President Leonid Kuchma, Gongadze disappeared on Sept. 16, 2000. His body was found two months later in a forest about 70 kilometers outside Kyiv.

Gongadze's killing became a defining moment for press freedom in Ukraine, and the prize established in his name recognizes journalists committed to independent and principled reporting.