Covering the war in Ukraine: FRANCE 24 reporters’ perspective

Issued on: 22/02/2023 – 17:42Modified: 22/02/2023 – 17:46

“Confusion and panic.” That’s how our chief foreign editor Robert Parsons describes the mood in the streets of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, hours after Putin announced the beginning of what he called a “special military operation” in Ukraine.   

“Nobody really knew precisely what had happened, just that the Russians were invading, and throughout the day one could hear the occasional explosion on the outskirts of the city. So people were understandably panicked and were trying to get out of Kyiv in many cases as fast as they could,” he recalls.   

The sense of panic, however, did not last long. As Ukrainians managed to resist the first wave of attacks and even drive back Russian troops in some parts of the country, the mood changed. “There was a real sense of resilience,” says Parsons, adding that “everybody seemed to come together at that point”.  

‘So many stories that I’ve been in tears’ 

What’s it like to cover a war? “It is difficult,” says senior reporter Catherine Norris Trent, who has been in Ukraine five times since last February. “It’s difficult to keep a distance when you see people whose lives have been destroyed, whose realities have been turned upside down … I mean, it’s part of the job, but it’s not the easy part of the job,” she adds. “Making those human connections really brings the reality of the war home.” 

Our correspondent Gulliver Cragg, who has covered almost a decade of conflict in Ukraine since Russia’s first land grabs in 2014, also stresses the emotional toll of covering the war. “There are so many stories that I’ve been in tears when I’ve been editing them, and so many things that people have said to me that I find just very distressing, very moving for all sorts of different reasons,” he says.  

Over the past year, dozens of FRANCE 24 reporters have been to Ukraine, ensuring our continuous presence on the ground. Some tell us what they saw first-hand, in this sixth episode of our video series “Covering”.  

Click on the player above to watch the video.  

Video by Taise Parente and Faniry Andriamihaja.