Donetsk-based journalists reporting for international media outlets have had to change their work and safety practices due to the constant Russian attacks, journalist Yulia Surkova told Valentyna Troyan, the Institute of Mass Information’s representative in Luhansk oblast.
Surkova said that the danger of travelling by road and the lack of safe places to stay overnight in frontline towns posed the biggest challenge for media workers. The threat of guided aerial bomb (KAB) strikes and the absence of bomb shelters has meant that journalists avoid spending the night in Kramatorsk or Sloviansk.
“We’ve recently taken to staying in Kharkiv oblast overnight. We simply rent a flat or a private house. Every morning we drive in under the anti-drone nets, work through the day, and head back in the evening,” Surkova said.
She added that journalists have stopped staying in hotels completely, as these have become priority targets for Russian troops.
Travelling along the oblast’s roads has also become more difficult due to Russian FPV drones and fibre-optic drones.
Surkova said that even the protective netting installed over the highways around Lozova and Izium doesn’t guarantee total safety. Journalists’ work is further complicated by a fuel shortage caused by deliberate Russian strikes on petrol stations and fuel tankers.
Despite the risks, Yulia Surkova stressed the importance of highlighting civilian life, the work of utility services, and the situation in frontline communities ahead of the coming winter.
As reported earlier, the safety situation in Kramatorsk and Slovyansk (Donetsk oblast) is growing worse by the day due to a spike in Russian FPV drone, artillery, missile, and guided aerial bomb strikes.
Due to the increasingly difficult situation in Donetsk oblast, Radio Liberty correspondent Serhiy Horbatenko no longer wears labels identifying him as a member of the press and does not disclose that he works in journalism.
The growing threat from Russian FPV drones is also prompting Kharkiv journalists to change their practices, using drone detectors, body armour, new safety protocols, and avoiding stops at petrol stations.
In August, Vladyslav Yesypenko, freelance correspondent for Radio Liberty and Shelter, shared a video of his drive in a damaged car along the Kharkiv — Dnipro highway, showing the scale of destruction to civilian infrastructure and petrol stations.