Insurance for Journalists in Ukraine: What the Law Actually Requires

Two requirements, not one

A journalist going to Ukraine deals with two layers of insurance:

1. Entry and everyday cover — the medical policy every foreign national is expected to hold for the stay. It is what a border officer may ask about, and what pays for treatment if you fall ill or are hurt in Kyiv, Lviv or Odesa.
2. Front-line cover — accident insurance that Ukrainian law requires media employers to provide for staff sent to areas of hostilities or temporarily occupied territories.

Many articles online present these as a single "mandatory journalist insurance". Treating them as one is how people end up insured for the wrong place.

The legal obligation: front-line assignments

The rule is set by Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Support of Media, Guarantees of Professional Activity and Social Protection of Journalists". Media entities must insure journalists and other staff whom they send on assignment to areas of military (combat) operations and/or temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine — covering life, health and capacity to work, under insurance class 1 (accident insurance). The same article obliges employers to provide protective equipment for such trips.

The detailed procedure and conditions were set by an order of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications in September 2025 (Order No. 810-2025).

A note on legal history, because outdated references still circulate: in 2022 this obligation was added to Article 7 of the old Law "On Insurance" as a type of compulsory insurance. The new Law "On Insurance" (No. 1909-IX), in force since 2024, abolished the list of compulsory insurance types and replaced it with insurance classes; the obligation was then anchored in the media law by Law No. 4016-IX of 10 October 2024. Guides that still cite "Article 7 of the Law on Insurance" are quoting a structure that no longer exists.

What that obligation means in practice

• It is the employer's duty. The obligation sits with the media outlet sending the journalist, not with the journalist personally.
• It is about the assignment, not the border. It applies for the period of a trip to areas of hostilities or occupied territories — not to entering Ukraine as such.
• It is accident insurance (class 1). A travel medical policy is a different class and does not satisfy it.
• Freelancers fall outside the wording, which ties the duty to an employer. That does not make them safer — it means arranging their own cover is entirely on them.
• Foreign outlets usually arrange hostile-environment cover through their own insurers. Ask your desk, in writing, which policy covers front-line work and where its territorial limits are.

Entry and everyday cover: what the policy on this site does

The policy sold here — the BRAVE product of PrJSC IC "Euroins Ukraine" — is the first layer. It is the medical policy foreign nationals are expected to hold for their stay, and it is what you show at the border if asked.

It covers emergency medical care across Ukraine, including injuries caused by military action — missiles, drones, debris — as a named insured risk. For a journalist, that is the cover that matters for the weeks spent in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro or Odesa between assignments, where most working time is actually spent.

What it does not do is satisfy the front-line obligation above, for two reasons: it is a different insurance class, and it explicitly excludes areas of active hostilities, temporarily occupied territories, a 50 km band around them, and territories under a special access regime — exactly the places the media law is about. Anyone telling you a travel medical policy makes you "compliant" for front-line work is wrong.

For journalists we recommend the Extended plan, with a sum insured of 1,575,000 UAH (about €30,000), which is the working standard for surgery and medical evacuation. See insurance for journalists and the full insurance conditions.

Get your entry and city cover →

AFU press accreditation: who needs it and how to get it

Accreditation from the Armed Forces of Ukraine is needed to work in combat areas and with military units. Journalists who do not carry out assignments with the defence forces and do not visit combat areas do not need it.

According to the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, the application requires:

• a scanned copy of your passport (pages 1–3) or ID card;
• a scanned copy of your media credential — not required for fixers who support the work of foreign journalists;
• a request from your media outlet to grant accreditation;
• a high-resolution photo.

After the documents are verified, you receive an electronic press card, which you show to the military and law enforcement on request. Accreditation can be suspended or revoked for breaking the rules of work in the combat zone or for passing your press card to someone else.

One line in the accreditation rules deserves attention: the Armed Forces and military commanders state that they are not responsible for the safety, life and health of media representatives, or for insuring them. Insurance for front-line work is your outlet's job, or yours.

The official procedure and application are published on the Ministry of Defence website: mod.gov.ua — get accreditation.

The document kit

At the border: passport, visa if your nationality requires one, press credential, and your medical policy — the PDF and its signature file, on your phone and printed.

For front-line assignments, add: the AFU electronic press card, class 1 accident cover arranged by your outlet (or yourself, if freelance), and protective equipment.

In your phone: 112 for emergencies, the medical assistance line from your certificate, your embassy's number (see our embassies in Kyiv guide), and an official air-raid alert app (see how yellow and red alerts work).

Sources

Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine "On State Support of Media, Guarantees of Professional Activity and Social Protection of Journalists", as amended by Law No. 4016-IX of 10 October 2024; Law of Ukraine "On Insurance" No. 1909-IX; Order of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine No. 810-2025; Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, media accreditation procedure. This article is general information, not legal advice — check the current wording with your outlet's legal team before an assignment.