THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
The team of the Swedish TV channel, TV4, in the Zaporizhzhia Region was attacked by a Russian drone yesterday, September 19, at around 11:30 a.m. Correspondent Johan Fredriksson and photographer Daniel Zdolsek, fortunately, were not injured. Oleksandr Pavlov, a Ukrainian journalist and local producer, was wounded in the hand.
The drone attack on the car happened when the media went out to film. All the equipment that remained in the car was destroyed. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson considers the incident to be “absolutely terrible.”
“This clearly demonstrates that the war is constantly affecting civilians…” said the Prime Minister. “It cannot be ruled out that this is also the result that Russia wants to see. So that journalists don’t dare to be there so that they cover this war as little as possible.”
Journalist Oleksandr Pavlov, who accompanied Swedish colleagues on a trip to the Zaporizhzhia Region, told the NUJU Information Service how the journalists managed to survive. Our conversation was supposed to last a few minutes but stretched for half an hour as Oleksandr had to constantly distract himself in order to answer his colleagues in Ukrainian, English, French…
– Please tell us about the events of September 19.
“The task of journalists from the very popular Swedish channel, TV4, was to talk with the residents of Stepnohirsk, a city near which the front line was located,” Oleksandr said. “There were no soldiers there. We were accompanied by the police officers who carried out the evacuation of the townspeople and are well aware of the situation in Stepnohirsk. We were taken to the so-called Third District, which is considered the most dangerous in the city. While the Swedish colleagues were shooting synchros near a nine-story building, the shelling was underway. There were three mortar hits, but not close.
And here the police officer (you have to give the police credit; they are good guys) says: “We need to hit the road; there is intense shelling here every day.” And immediately after these words, he shouts: “A drone!” Thank God we weren’t in the car yet. If we were in the car at that moment, you wouldn’t be interviewing me right now. And I hear the whistling of a drone, and I see this stupid drone (they say Lancet) coming right at my forehead. We managed to run for 10-15 meters. I fell on the asphalt and hurt my hand quite badly.
The drone operator apparently saw that we ran away and redirected the drone to the car. The car exploded and caught fire. The police ordered us to get into their car – and we drove off. I only had time to see that our car was completely engulfed in flames.”
– Were you wearing civilian clothes? Did you have ‘Press’ marks on them?
“Police officers in uniform stood next to us. But we, the media, were in civilian clothes, in bulletproof vests and helmets with the inscription’ PRESS.’ And there was a camera on a tripod. The operator of that nasty drone could not understand that we were a film crew.”
– Was there any equipment left in the car?
“The Swedes had their expensive equipment burned. Now we are asking journalists we know to provide them with equipment for further work. The Qatari TV channel, Al Jazeera, and the French, LCI, have already helped. Borys Rozenkov, a Zaporizhzhia Channel 5 correspondent, asked his cameraman to help his Swedish colleagues.
My work computer and iPhone with 11,000 photos from the entire period of the war burned down in the car… Of course, it’s a pity for the equipment, but it’s even more a pity for those photos. Since February 23, 2022, I have been to Donbas alone 12 times. I write for the Finnish newspaper, Iltalehti, where I work, and for French publications, I work as a local producer with many foreign journalists who come to Ukraine.”
– You were injured during the drone attack. Who provided you with help?
“This was done at the police station after returning. I was not the only one injured: one of the police officers was wounded with a shrapnel.”
– How did journalists from Sweden survive the attack?
“Everyone reacted quickly and appropriately – they spread in different directions, fell on the ground, then quickly left the place of impact. They behaved in a dignified and professional manner. Of great importance was the special training they received, as well as the experience of covering other wars. Johan Fredriksson is a very experienced journalist who has been through many military conflicts around the world. But, of course, it was scary. Johan confessed that after what he experienced yesterday, he could not sleep. Colleagues called relatives, and the TV channel did not give any information about the event until the relatives learned that everyone was alive.”
PHOTO: Union’s certificate of Oleksandr Pavlov
– Will you continue to help foreign journalists after what happened yesterday?
“What else should I do when the war is going on? This is a very important and difficult work, extremely important for the formation of public opinion in the world. Thanks to it, politicians of various countries make decisions in favor of Ukraine and provide Ukraine with help. I don’t think any boy who has learned a hundred words in English and knows how to drive a car can do it. This is much more. It is necessary to know the realities of Ukrainian life, to be flexible, to be able to negotiate, to know approaches to foreigners, to be able to warn them against the use of certain ill-considered formulations instead of being too straightforward…”
– Have you ever experienced such risks to your life as on September 19?
“Two months ago, I was with my French colleagues near Bakhmut – they were filming a documentary about how technology affects the course of war. On the way back, we were shelled from a mortar; three times, we rolled on our stomachs in the mud. It was also very scary. I prayed to God to be saved. But it cannot be compared with yesterday’s case. Without too much pathos, I can say that September 19 is my second birthday.”
Maksym Stepanov, NUJU Information Service
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