War reporters recall their darkest moments covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the struggle to cope with what they've seen

A Latvian TV journalist films Ukrainian tank crew members near Bakhmut on June 7, 2023 in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine.

(Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

• Current Time's correspondents shared experiences covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
• Journalists described emotional challenges, including reporting on civilian and soldier deaths.
• Reporters highlighted the crucial roles of their colleagues on the front lines.

War correspondents covering Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine for the news outlet Current Time described the horrific scenes they witnessed and how they grapple with them as they continue to cover the war going into its third year.

The war has been horrific, claiming countless lives, both military and civilian, and there have been numerous atrocities and war crimes, many of which have been carefully documented by reporters in the field.

"Here are the bodies of 15 civilians killed by Russian soldiers," Andriy Kuzakov told Radio Free Europe, detailing a darker war story. "They piled them up, poured gasoline over them, and burned them."

Kuzakov explained that in addition to often witnessing other people's grief, he has also experienced the tragic nature of the war while working to cover the conflict.

"It was a normal scene for us when a mother turned over her son's body, talking to him as if he was a child," another correspondent, Borys Sachalko, said, describing the discovery of a mass grave and interactions with the people in the Ukrainian settlement of Borodyanka. "He was a 40-year-old man," the journalist said, "but she was still his mother."

Borodyanka is located near Kyiv and like Bucha was the site of many reported atrocities.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about this in April 2022, saying that "in many villages of the liberated districts of the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the occupiers did things that the locals had not seen even during the Nazi occupation 80 years ago."

Sachalko said that while these scenes are deeply tragic, he feels he must "cut off" his emotions. That's not always possible though. He said that sometimes after replaying footage, he gives into his emotions.

Correspondent Oleksiy Prodayvoda said the most difficult aspect of his work is getting to know soldiers and then later hearing that they've been killed.

Prodayvoda added that there have been times where he has been notified that a soldier fell before he had finished reporting a story on them. "It's not the ending you want to add," he said.

After two years on the front lines, the journalists have counted on their colleagues, such as their drivers, to help keep them safe and keep up morale. It's a tough and challenging environment.

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a nonprofit focused on press global freedom, reports that between 2022 and 2024, over a dozen civilian journalists have been killed in the course of covering the war in Ukraine, and a number of others have been injured.

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