The founders of Italy’s Montecatini Prize for War Journalism have explained why this year’s award focused on Ukraine and Ukrinform.
Italy recently hosted the Montecatini Prize ceremony, an award recognizing outstanding Italian and international journalists covering defense, security, and military conflicts.
This year, the Ukrainian National News Agency Ukrinform became only the second member of the European Alliance of News Agencies (EANA) to receive the Montecatini Prize for War Journalism, following Romania’s Agerpres in 2025.
Alongside Ukrinform journalist Olha Zvonaryova, the award was presented to Barbara Schiavulli, founder and editor-in-chief of the independent media and podcast platform Radio Bullets. Over the past 24 years, Schiavulli has reported from conflict zones across Iraq, Afghanistan, Israel, Palestine, Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, Chile, Haiti, and Venezuela.
The prize was established by UNUCI, a non-profit and non-partisan association representing retired officers of the Italian Armed Forces. The ceremony took place in the Tuscan spa town of Montecatini Terme as part of the annual Bookfest cultural festival.
