Two Kharkiv photographers wounded by Russian artillery fire in Donetsk oblast
Two photographers from Kharkiv – Olha Kovalyova (Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, project manager) and Vladyslav Krasnoshchok – came under Russian artillery fire in the Toretsk district of Donetsk oblast on July 19, reports the UAPP.
The photographers were working with with UAF artillerymen. That day, the military fired several rounds at the enemy and hid in a dugout together with the journalists.
As Vladyslav Krasnoshchok says, while they were in the dugout with the soldiers, the Russians started firing back. According to him, 12 shots hit the field next to the positions, and the 13th fell right into the dugout.
Olha Kovalyova received shrapnel wounds in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic areas and the arm, and a ribcage fracture. She was hospitalized. Krasnoshchok and the soldiers received concussions.
Ukrainian photographer Olha Kovalyova wounded in Donetsk oblast. Photo by the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers
"I have three shrapnel wounds. Two shell fragments were taken out from my body. All of them were near large blood vessels. However, the medics are currently not taking the risk of removing the third fragment, so as not to damage something. Currently, my right hand does not move at all," Olha said.
The military provided first aid to the photographer, then evacuated her to the hospital.
Olha Kovalyova said that the military medevac vehicle took her to the nearest field hospital, then to the military hospital in Pokrovsk, and then to a civilian hospital, where two of the three fragments were removed. Now she is in a hospital in Kharkiv. She is currently stable.
"Fortunately, the others who were in the dugout are safe. I was injured because I was sitting in the corner near the pipe – makeshift ventilation outlet, and the fragments flew out of it. I was saved by the bulletproof vest and the helmet. The shrapnel pierced the unprotected parts. It's a pity that this happened on the first day of our trip," Olha said.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has killed 82 media workers in Ukraine. 10 of them were killed while reporting.
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