Journalists reporting from within the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine are at risk of being shot down or bombed throughout the country.

A number of correspondents are said to have already left for fear of not being able to get out, according to Erik Halkjaer, chairman of RSF.

- The journalists become the first witnesses of the war and these voices want to be silenced, therefore they are exposed early on to purely physical threats, Halkjaer says.

Several journalists who may want to leave the country also face the risk of being stranded, like the civilian population in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.

According to figures from the Ukrainian army, more than 1,000 foreign correspondents have been on the scene in recent days.

American sources: There is a death list

A death list is also said to have been drawn up by Russia, according to official sources in the United States.

The content of the list refers to people who are to be killed.

No names have been announced yet, but there should be journalists on the list, says Erik Halkjaer.

- If Russia wants to take over Ukraine, they want to quickly get rid of the votes that can gather large crowds of critics or opposition.

You want to get rid of these uncomfortable voices quickly.

How confident are you that this list exists?

- We are sure, otherwise we would not write it.

We consider the sources that state this to be independent and credible, but unfortunately we can not say exactly what names are on the list, but there are journalists.

Official censorship of information

The war in Ukraine is also taking place in the field of information, something that SVT previously reported on.

Russia's censorship authority has announced that the country's media are only required to publish information from official Russian sources.

The same authority warns that other information will be treated as misinformation and fined and blocked immediately.

At least two Ukrainian media outlets have also been subjected to cyber attacks.

- You go to their websites.

It could be that the site is lowered completely or that it is taken over to distribute information that the attacker wants to get out, says Halkjaer.

Calls on the parties to respect international commitments

Reporters Without Borders calls on the Russian and Ukrainian authorities to respect their international commitment to the protection of journalists in the event of an armed conflict.

It is also written that the countries with embassies in Ukraine must be prepared to grant asylum to Ukrainian journalists.

Russia is ranked 150th out of 180 in the RSF's Press Freedom Index.

Ukraine is in 97th place.