JFJ Report: Eastern Europe increasingly hostile to independent media. Moldova among the few countries maintaining media pluralism

In 2025, the trend of deteriorating press freedom in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet space continued, and in some countries it worsened, according to a report published on Monday, March 9, by the Justice for Journalists Foundation (JFJ). According to the study, Armenia, Moldova, and Ukraine have maintained their pluralistic and independent media landscape, while Azerbaijan, Georgia, Belarus, and Russia have fallen further in the press freedom rankings.

The analysis indicates that in countries where press freedom is deteriorating, state actors remain the main perpetrators of attacks against journalists and media institutions. The study shows that most incidents are committed through judicial and economic means, indicating systematic pressure on independent newsrooms, not just isolated cases of intimidation.

A separate study by JFJ, dedicated to Russian journalists in exile, shows that in 2025, 817 cases of attacks and threats against media workers and newsrooms were documented, including against Russian journalists outside the country. Of these, 774 were committed through judicial and/or economic means, and 94% of the cases were attributed to the authorities. “Repression against journalists and bloggers does not appear to be a reaction to specific publications, but rather a process of controlling the information space, which involves the continuous adjustment of repressive tools directed both against journalists inside the country and those working in exile,” the experts note.

Another element highlighted by the study is the continuing impact of the war in Ukraine on journalists. In 2025, several media workers were killed in drone attacks while carrying out their professional activities, and these cases confirm that documenting the war remains one of the most dangerous journalistic missions in the region.
In this tense regional landscape, the Republic of Moldova is mentioned in the report as one of the few states that continues to maintain a pluralistic and independent media environment. The reference to Moldova alongside Armenia and Ukraine places it in the category of countries that, despite regional pressures, have not followed the democratic backsliding observed in Russia, Belarus, Georgia, and Azerbaijan.