Suspilne Ukraine continues to exchange experience with European public service media on working in wartime conditions, crisis preparedness and technological transformation. A delegation of senior representatives from Estonian ERR, Lithuanian LRT and Finnish Yle public broadcasters visited Suspilne’s central office in Kyiv and Suspilne Lviv. During the visit, they learned how Suspilne operates during the war, ensures the safety of its teams and infrastructure, and uses new technologies and artificial intelligence.
The delegation included Janne Yli-Äyhö, Director of Technology, Production and Development at Yle; Petri Launiainen, Head of Security at Yle; Olli Sipilä, Head of Live Broadcasts and Media Services at Yle; Erik Roose, Chair of the ERR Board; Jaanus Lillenberg, Chief Technology Officer at ERR; Deividas Grabauskas, Head of the Technology Division at LRT; and Karolis Rajackas, LRT.
Representatives of European broadcasters noted the practical value of Suspilne’s experience, particularly its approaches to ensuring uninterrupted operations and security during wartime.
“Visiting Suspilne gave us excellent opportunity to get first hand information about media company working in real time war conditions. Suspilne has shown us how to secure 24/7 operations in very difficult security situation. This trip was great learning experience for us,” said Janne Yli-Äyhö, Director of Technology, Production and Development at Yle;
“We saw public media service being fully functional under the pressure of ongoing war on permanent, 24/7 basis. For this Suspilne has implemented more than one practical solution to key challenges many European public broadcasters have only started the discussion about. This is a living proof that despite biased assumptions about country at war, Europe has a lot to learn from Suspilne,” said Erik Roose, Chair of the ERR Board.
Separately, the participants discussed Suspilne’s technological solutions and opportunities for their further development, including the use of artificial intelligence in their work, the recently approved AI strategy, and the newly established Department of Innovation and Artificial Intelligence.
“We appreciate our colleagues at Suspilne for sharing their insights on maintaining business continuity during emergencies, covering both theoretical concepts and real-life scenarios. It was especially inspiring to see their forward-looking approach, clear vision, and ongoing technological advancements, showcasing Suspilne’s technological expertise and ambitious goals. The discussion left us with many ideas for enhancing our practices and identifying potential areas for future collaboration,” Deividas Grabauskas, Head of the Technology Division at LRT.
According to Valeriia Bezpala, Head of International Cooperation at Suspilne Ukraine, over the years of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine, Suspilne has accumulated practical experience of operating during missile attacks and blackouts, working in regions close to the frontline, and ensuring the safety of its teams and infrastructure. European public broadcasters are increasingly interested in this experience as they review their own approaches to crisis preparedness.
“For us, this visit is important not only as an opportunity to exchange experience with our colleagues from Yle, ERR and LRT. It is crucial for us to share what we have learned under extremely difficult conditions. The resilience of public service media cannot be the responsibility of just one organisation or one country. The more we learn from one another and prepare together, the more resilient the entire European public service media system becomes,” Valeriia Bezpala says.
The parties also discussed further areas of cooperation and potential joint projects.
Тaisiia Turchyn, Head of the Mediateka Department, showed them the archival storage facilities of Suspilne Lviv and presented the work of the Suspilne Mediateka. Particular attention was paid to the digitisation and preservation of materials documenting thпеe war.
“We are working under conditions that European broadcasters have never faced on this scale before, so many decisions have to be adapted to the realities of war — from the security of storage facilities to the continuous preservation and digitization of content. This exchange of expertise allows us not only to adopt best practices in preserving media heritage but also to develop our own solutions, which we can now share with our European colleagues,” noted Taisiia Turchyn.
Andriy Brusnikin, Director of the Media Infrastructure Department at Suspilne Ukraine, spoke about the measures taken to ensure uninterrupted operations during the war and how they have evolved over the past five years.
“It is an honor for me to share Suspilne’s experience with colleagues from the Baltic countries, who have a similar assessment of threats and a similar set of technical and organizational measures to minimize them,” said Andriy Brusnikin.
For several years, Suspilne has been developing a systematic exchange of experience with European public service media, particularly on crisis preparedness and operating during the full-scale war. In June 2026, the Suspilne team visited Estonia’s ERR to learn about its approaches to operating in crisis conditions. The exchange is mutual: back in 2023, ERR management visited Suspilne to learn more about the Ukrainian broadcaster’s preparations for crisis scenarios. Following that visit, Estonian colleagues noted that they had begun developing some of their own practical solutions taking Ukraine’s experience into account.
Suspilne also has a long history of cooperation with Lithuania’s LRT. LRT was the first public broadcaster visited by the Suspilne team, back in 2016, while in 2024 a Lithuanian delegation visited Ukraine. That same year, representatives of Suspilne shared their experience of working during the full-scale war with colleagues from Finland’s Yle, following an invitation from the broadcaster’s Director General.
Suspilne Ukraine is an independent media company with a strong presence across all platforms: the TV channels Pershyi, Suspilne Kultura, Suspilne Sport, and a national network of local channels; the radio stations Ukrainske Radio, Radio Promin, Radio Kultura, Radiotochka. Find only verified news on suspilne.media, as well as on our national and local digital platforms. We broadcast in minority languages, represent Ukraine at the Eurovision Song Contest, develop the children’s platform Brobaks, and train media professionals through the Public Media Academy. Our Suspilne Mediateka platform offers unique video and audio archives dating from the 1920s to today. Defending freedom in Ukraine.
