“It was the day that changed us all,” tweeted Ukrainian journalist Olga Rudenko on Thursday, February 24, before Russian troops closed in on Kyiv Friday. Rudenko’s tweet included a picture of herself sitting on the floor of one of the capital city’s subway stations as she, along with many other Ukrainians, sought shelter from the Russian attack.
Earlier, Rudenko, the editor of the independently funded Kyiv Independent, had been reporting out on the streets about Russia’s invasion. “The city is in a state of shock,” she said in a video posted to her Twitter feed.
Below, CPJ rounded up some of the most poignant local commentary from journalists about the invasion.
Olga Rudenko, editor of Kyiv Independent, English-language Ukrainian news site funded by supporters and a grant from the European Endowment for Democracy:
“The mood here is rather grim. Even when you make eye contact with strangers in the street, you have this feeling of anxiety and grimness because the general feeling is nobody knows where is safe to be right now.”
Kristina Berdynskykh, journalist at independent newsmagazine Novoye Vremya:
“Life in Kyiv. After getting home after a night in the metro [station], you hear the sound of sirens, which means it’s time to head back to the bomb shelter.”
“Sitting in the metro with my 17-year old relative, Nastia, who is from Kherson [a city in southern Ukraine on the Black Sea]. ‘Out there where a fire burns for the right to live freely,’ she sings while we still have a signal. Kyiv is facing a terrifying night, but believes in its future.”
Nataliya Gumenyuk, freelance journalist and founder of independent Ukrainian media research startup Public Interest Journalism Lab:
Katerina Sergatskova, editor-in-chief of independent news website Zabornaya Media:
Anastasiya “Nastya” Stanko, 2018 recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award, co-founder and adviser at independent media channel Hromadske:
“3:50 in the morning. My one-year-old son is asleep next to me. We’re in Kyiv. And in addition to my son, there are tens of thousands of children. Just like in Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Mariupol. It’s all so unjust.”
Anastasiia Lapatina, journalist at the Kyiv Independent
Veronika Melkozerova, executive editor of independent English-language news website The New Voice of Ukraine, posting about her grandmother’s meat patties.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Katherine Jacobsen/CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator.
Katherine Jacobsen/CPJ U.S. and Canada Program Coordinator | Radio Free (2022-02-25T21:48:41+00:00) The view from Ukraine, through the eyes of local journalists. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2022/02/25/the-view-from-ukraine-through-the-eyes-of-local-journalists/
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