A Suspilne Dnipro filming crew came under Russian Shahed fire while working in Ternivka (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) on 2 February. The journalists were filming the aftermath of the Russian strike at a bus carrying miners that occurred the day before, on 1 February, the broadcaster’s correspondent Anton Sirenko reported to Kateryna Lysiuk, the Institute of Mass Information representative in Dnipropetrovsk oblast.

The filming crew arrived in Ternivka, where a Russian drone had hit a bus carrying civilians (DTEK miners) the day before. Another drone had arrived shortly after, hitting the wounded people as they were trying to help one another get out of the bus.

The reporter said that the crew had been preparing for the live Suspilne slot in the telethon, having recorded the aftermath of the attack. At that moment, they heard gunfire, and then spotted a suicide drone flying towards them.

“I was just finishing the script for my report, my colleague, the cameraman, was setting up the camera, when we heard a crackling sound (automatic rifle rounds. – Ed.), we froze up and listened, and only then did we hear and see the Shahed. It was flying straight at us,” said Anton Sirenko.

He added that the filming crew was wearing safety gear: bulletproof vests and helmets with PRESS labels. There was nowhere to take cover nearby, so the journalists tried at least to hide behind a fence.

“We were wearing bulletproof vests, helmets, we always work in gear labelled PRESS, we tried get at least some cover behind the fence, a kind of imitation wall, since there was no shelter nearby… At the last second, the Shahed took a sharp turn around and hit the mine again, as it did yesterday,” said Anton Sirenko.

The Suspilne Dnipro team (the correspondent, the cameraman, and the driver) were unharmed.

Anton Sirenko said that the Shahed had hit a coal mining facility 700 meters away, which had already been damaged by two drones the day before.

After the explosion, the team quickly left the danger zone. Later, having reached the central city, the reporters heard another explosion and saw smoke rising about a kilometer away.

Suspilne Dnipro crew filmed the aftermath of the second Shahed strike. Screenshot from Suspilne Dnipro