Cars and filming equipment of Swedish TV4 journalists were destroyed by a Russian drone in Zaporizhzhia

Prime Minister of Sweden Ulf Kristersson has already commented on the drone attack on the journalists’ car. the equipment of the Swedish TV4 journalists was destroyed by a Russian drone in Zaporizhzhia.

The TV4 team, which is in Ukraine, was attacked by a UAV in the east on Tuesday, September 19, according to the TV4 website.

“The TV4 team was fired upon by a drone. Reporter Johan Fredriksson and photographer Daniel Zdolsek were not injured,” the message reads.

“We were lucky this time,” commented Johan Fredriksson after the attack.

Johan Fredriksson and Daniel Zdolsek, who are in the Zaporizhzhia region, got out of their car to start filming a scene, and around 11:30 their car was attacked by a Russian drone.

It is reported that Yohan and Daniel were not injured. Their local producer Oleksandr Pavlov, as well as two Ukrainian policemen who accompanied the TV4 team to the scene, received minor injuries.

“This time we were lucky. A Russian missile, which we heard from the drone, hit our car door directly. Fortunately, there was no one in the car. All this was very close to us. This is what Ukraine looks like for millions of people – a constant danger to life,” says Johan Fredriksson.

The website of the Swedish broadcaster clarifies that TV4 employees are on a reporting trip to Zaporizhzhia, where they were going to shoot a story.

As a result of being hit by a Russian drone, the car they were traveling in and the filming equipment were destroyed.

“We are glad that everyone was unharmed. We followed the security procedures established in the newsroom. Both of our journalists have a lot of experience working in war zones, and this helped them quickly understand what was going on,” said Fredrik Malmberg, News Director of TV4 Nyheterna.

The message states that the authorities of the Zaporizhzhia region have expressed concern about the attack.

“This is a blatant attack on the press,” Olena Zhuk, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration, said in an interview with TV4 Nyheterna.

The attack of the Russian drone on the Swedish journalists’ car was also commented on by the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson: “This emphasizes that the war constantly affects people who are completely civilians and who are there for other reasons. I assume there will be a very thorough investigation into what is behind this. It cannot be ruled out that this is the consequence that Russia wants to see: that journalists do not dare to be there, that they cover this war as little as possible.”

The lieutenant colonel of the Swedish Defense College, Joakim Paasikivi, is inclined to believe that this was a deliberate Russian attack on journalists.

“With the information I have now, which is not a lot, I think it seems pretty clear. There is usually a drone that scouts from above and gives information on what targets are in the area. And there’s also an impact drone pilot who sits in VR goggles. So he sees what the camera on the drone sees. He deliberately directs this drone at the target and sees it all the way, until it hits, and as you can see from the car, this means that the damage is quite limited,” said Joakim Paasikivi.

Journalist and fixer Artem Perfilov spoke in more detail about the event: “This afternoon, the car of the film crew of Swedish television TV4 was attacked by a Russian drone in Stepnohirsk (Zaporizhzhia region). Everyone is alive, they got scratches, but the car burned together with the filming equipment, as well as the computer and phone of our colleague – journalist and local producer Oleksandr Pavlov, who also received a minor injury to his hand.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned the attack by Russian troops on the car of Swedish TV4 journalists in the Zaporizhzhia region, which took place on September 19, the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleg Nikolenko, emphasized: “We strongly condemn the attack by Russian drones on the crew of TV4 journalists in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The Ukrainian producer received minor injuries, while the reporter and photographer were miraculously unhurt. All had clear “PRESS” markings. This is another Russian war crime against journalists,” Nikolenko wrote.