When Moscow invaded Ukraine, several local correspondents and reporters found themselves torn: on the one hand, a responsibility to tell the population and the rest of the world what was happening on the ground, on the other, a desire for them too to flee this war that they never wanted to cover. The duty spoke with Gulliver Cragg, correspondent based in Kyiv for 8 years for the international news channel France24.
The British journalist had been closely following for weeks what was then considered a “crisis” between Ukraine and Russia. But like many Ukrainians, Gulliver Cragg did not expect Moscow to really decide to invade the country and bombard several strategic cities on the night of February 23 to 24.
In front of the camera, he multiplied the direct and told the climate in Kiev on this first day of war. He described the sound of sirens, the sound of shelling in the distance, the curfew, the lines at the grocery store, the roads and Kiev train station crowded with people trying to flee west.
And the next day, it was he who fled to take shelter, with his girlfriend and her son, in a country village in the Vinnytsia region, southwest of the capital.
“I took a suitcase and we left Kiev. It took us 10 hours to make a trip that usually takes 1.5 hours. There were so many people driving west with as much luggage as possible. I wanted to tell all this in my live, but I couldn’t do it… I still can’t actually talk about it without crying… because I too am one of these refugees, “says he on the line, his throat knotted with emotion.
Compared to special envoys or independent journalists – who have landed at full speed all over Ukraine – covering this war is proving much more difficult for correspondents who have been established in the country for years. Admittedly, they know the country, the language and the culture better, but many have been torn between their professional and personal lives, between their desire to tell everything that is happening around them and the need to protect the members of their family. Not to mention the mourning of this life that they had built and may never be able to find again.
“It is a great trauma for the correspondents. […] We live locally, we have built our lives here. My girlfriend is Ukrainian, half of my friends are Ukrainian. We are therefore very close to the people who are affected and we ourselves are very affected, ”continues Gulliver Cragg.
keep telling
From his corner of the countryside, more than 200 km from the capital, he continued to cover the war. “Even far from Kiev, there was plenty to tell. The war is felt everywhere in the country. There are checkpoints, gunshots and missiles that can be heard in the distance. There is also the mobilization of these men who leave for the army, these women who help as much as they can, ”he gives as an example.
Above all, he does not regret having moved away from a risk zone, measuring the danger to his life and that of his loved ones. “I am not a war journalist. Even though I have regularly covered the war in the Donbass for 8 years, I never wanted to be a war correspondent and risk my life for journalism. He also says he is grateful that his employer, France24, has sent journalists trained in conflict situations in the most dangerous areas.
Faced with the advance of the Russian armed forces on the territory, Gulliver Cragg and his girlfriend – who is also a reporter for a local media – resolved to leave the country briefly last week to take her son to Poland. “From there, he will go and live in Barcelona with his aunt, in safety. »
The couple of journalists has meanwhile returned to the west of the country, where the situation is much calmer, the region being for the moment spared from the bombardments. “We did not weigh the pros and cons, it was just obvious, says the Briton. If I weren’t in Ukraine, I would spend my time anyway following what’s going on there. It is important that this war is covered”.
It is therefore now from Lviv, 500 km from the front, that he continues to practice his profession. Lviv has in fact become the city of refuge for many diplomats, media, and Ukrainians who find a semblance of normal life there.
Does he think of returning to Kiev soon? “It’s too dangerous right now. But one day, when it will be safe again…”, he hopes with all his heart.