At the newsroom of Ukrainian media outlet Rubryka, electricity might cut out for hours and air raid sirens can interrupt work at any moment. Yet, amid the tragedy of war, they are pioneering ways to practice solution-oriented journalism—even through 30-second visual content.
Rubryka’s Editor-in-Chief Anastasia Rudenko. Photo courtesy: Rubryka
In Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, lies the newsroom of ‘Rubryka’, a media outlet led by Anastasia Rudenko. In Rubryka’s newsroom, work schedules are not set by the clock alone. On any given day, there may be no electricity for hours. Mobile connectivity may be lost. Air raid warnings can halt operations. Amid the tragedy of war, it is only natural that people have less time and mental energy to read the news.
Therefore, Rubryka is currently experimenting with how to preserve the core foundations of deep journalism—context, evidence, limits of solutions, and the voices of affected people—even within 30-second visual content or photo series.
Anastasia has arrived in Bonn, Germany, to share these experiences, accompanied by Rubryka’s senior editor, Maryna Smagina. On 3 October (today), they are conducting a two-hour workshop at the ‘Haus der Bildung’ (House of Education). Their workshop is taking place as part of the b° future festival organized by the Bonn Institute at this building, which houses Bonn’s central library and adult education center.
Anastasia Rudenko, Editor-in-Chief of Rubryka, and Senior Editor Maryna Smagina. Photo courtesy: Rubryka.
The workshop is titled: ‘Solutions Journalism vs. Shrinking Attention Spans: Who Will Win?’
As readers’ and viewers’ attention spans on single pieces of content continue to shrink, they are guiding exercises there on how in-depth solutions journalism can be adapted into short visual clips, photo series, and explanatory content.
This practice was not adopted simply because short-form content has become popular on social media. “In war, electricity can be disrupted for hours, reliable internet might only be available briefly, and air raid warnings can sound at any moment,” says Anastasia. “In such conditions, it is not enough for people to just know the problem; they also need to know what can be done, what options are available, and which solutions are actually working. When people are not in a position to read long articles, the depth of coverage shouldn’t be lost as a result. We have no choice but to face the challenge of producing content that doesn’t sacrifice evidence, context, and trust even when condensed into short formats.”
For a normal newsroom, this might merely be a problem of presentation style. But Anastasia’s reflection is tied directly to daily life in war-torn Ukraine.
“All of our work is linked to the impact of the war and how to cope with it,” says Anastasia Rudenko. “We report on war events alongside solutions journalism. We cannot explain the reality of our lives by ignoring the war.”
When I first spoke with her on 25 April 2025, Russian missile and drone attacks had hit Kyiv the previous night. Initial Reuters reports stated that nine people had died. As rescue operations progressed, the death toll rose to 12. “Our team is right here in Kyiv. You can only imagine what such a night is like,” she had said.
The experiences and news of continuous attacks in cities like Sumy, Dnipro, and Mykolaiv—not just Kyiv—are not distant matters for her.
Rubryka is not reporting on the war by looking at it from the outside. Anastasia and her colleagues live within the reality of the war itself. “All of our work is linked to the impact of the war and how to cope with it,” she says. “We report on war events alongside solutions journalism. We cannot explain the reality of our lives by ignoring the war.”
This was precisely the primary reason I wanted to speak with her. Practicing ‘solutions journalism’ in a country at war seems inherently unusual. Buildings are collapsing, people are being killed, families are displaced, journalists themselves are unsafe, and independent media are fighting for their very survival. At such a time, when journalists ask “What can be done now?”, is that not trivializing the tragedy? I wanted to understand.
And her answer was clear: “During a crisis, solutions journalism is not only possible—it becomes even more necessary.”
A brave attempt by three journalists
I first met Anastasia in a social media group connecting solutions journalism trainers from around the world. There, she had written about Rubryka. Following that, I started researching—what is Rubryka? Who is Anastasia? What does solutions journalism mean in a country experiencing war? That search led me to a video on the Constructive Institute’s website.
Ukraine is under full-scale attack, people’s lives are in jeopardy—is this really the time to talk about constructive journalism?
In the video, Anastasia answers firmly: ‘Yes. This is precisely the time.’
She argues that such journalism helps combat the fatigue caused by war and continuous news about it. In her view, journalism that shows existing efforts to solve problems, provides people facing similar struggles an opportunity to learn from one another’s experiences, and highlights the limitations when a solution is incomplete inspires people to participate in problem-solving efforts and fosters a feeling that they, too, can do something. She says, “Yes, in complex situations, solutions are not easy or complete; they may be partial. But even a small story about how people are supporting one another can be deeply meaningful during war and tragedy.”
Anastasia hails from Sloviansk in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. In 2014, when Russian-backed groups seized Sloviansk, she was a student in Kyiv while her family was back home.
While attending a journalism festival in Georgia, Anastasia heard about the ‘Solutions Journalism Network’ and the growing practice of solutions journalism worldwide. “Once I learned about that concept, I felt: this is exactly what Ukraine needs,” she says.
To get information out about what was happening there, she began posting continuously on social media. She amassed over 50,000 followers, and Ukrainian as well as international media outlets used her posts as an information source. From that experience, she realized that journalism could provide people with life-saving information.
In 2018, Anastasia and two other journalists launched Rubryka. “It was a brave attempt by three journalists,” she says. The Ukrainian media landscape had long been influenced by oligarch ownership and authoritarian traditions. After the 2014 ‘Revolution of Dignity’, online media outlets with new ideas and fresh presentation styles began to emerge. Rubryka was born during that period. “We were a small team, but we were very excited to find new ways of storytelling in Ukraine,” she recalls.
When Rubryka was founded, it was not initially a media outlet focused solely on solutions journalism. While attending a journalism festival in Georgia, Anastasia heard about the ‘Solutions Journalism Network’ and the growing practice of solutions journalism worldwide. “Once I learned about that concept, I felt: this is exactly what Ukraine needs,” she says.
They were trying to build a media platform for active citizens who believed that their cities and communities could be transformed. The concept of solutions journalism aligned perfectly with that vision. “In fact, solutions journalism is not about ignoring problems, turning a blind eye, or writing only feel-good stories,” she says. “It is the practice of looking at reality with composure, while simultaneously asking what we can do, how we can organize, and how we can solve problems—even if partially rather than completely.”
Anastasia Rudenko with fellow Rubryka team members. Photo courtesy: Rubryka.
From 2020 onwards, Rubryka began placing solutions journalism at the core of its editorial practice. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this approach proved even more useful. People needed to know not just how far the infection was spreading, but also how to cope with it, what communities were doing, and which methods were working.
However, the war that broke out two years later posed a true test for the journalism they had initiated.
Post-war questions
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Rubryka also became immersed in breaking news. During war, every moment’s information is critical. Where did the attack happen? Where is it safe to go? Which services are operational? What should people do immediately? Yet, after giving such news for a while, questions began to arise—people knew the problems, but what next?
Anastasia does not view solutions journalism as journalism that hides pain. Nor does she seek journalism that searches for hope by concealing suffering. She is clear that solutions journalism is not ‘positive journalism’. According to her, its objective is to rigorously analyze problems and test responses using evidence. She states that no matter how good an effort appears, its limitations must be shown.
If a missile strikes a residential building or a university, or if a children’s hospital is attacked, Rubryka’s journalists rush to the scene. They report on the deaths, injuries, damages, and the attack itself. But the story does not end there.
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