A Suspilne Dnipro filming crew came under Russian mortar fire in Kapulivka (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) on 30 March, the broadcaster’s correspondent Roman Mykhalchuk reported to Kateryna Lysiuk, the Institute of Mass Information’s regional representative.
Roman Mykhalchuk and Danyil Nikolayenko were filming a news story about civilians living in the Nikopol district. The crew was about to film a standup (a clip with the reporter standing in front of the camera) when mortars started going off in the occupied part of the neighbouring Zaporizhzhia oblast.
“We were accompanied by police officers. We drove with them to the riverbank to quickly film the aftermath of Russian strikes in the coastal zone. And as we were recording a standup, mortarmen started firing at us from the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia oblast. The Russians must have seen the police car and us wearing bulletproof vests and helmets through their optics. We heard the whistle of a shell that hit the middle of the street about 100 meters away from us. Taking cover was not an option, because it happened in a matter of seconds. Compared to an FPV drone, this was much scarier, because you don’t know exactly where it will hit,” said Roman Mykhalchuk.
The media workers dropped on the ground and waited out the first explosions, then ran to the police car and drove off. However, the shelling did not stop, adds cameraman Danyil Nikolayenko.
“We got into the police car and another shell dropped nearby. We got out of there as fast as we could. The police say they were shooting at us because they (the Russian troops, — Ed.) had spotted a police car and people with their Mavics,” said Danyil Nikolayenko.
The mortar shell exploded 50 meters away from the car, Roman Mykhalchuk said. None of the journalists or police officers were injured.
Earlier, a Suspilne Dnipro filming crew was able to escape a Russian FPV drone following them thanks to being equipped with a drone detector. The incident happened in Demuryne village (Dnipropetrovsk oblast) on 17 March 2026.