Ukrainian photographers Olga Kovalova and Vladyslav Krasnoshchok, who worked with artillerymen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, came under Russian artillery fire in Donetsk region.
This was reported by the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers.
Photographers came under fire from Russian artillery while documenting the Russian-Ukrainian war. It happened on July 19, 2024 near the front line in the Toretsk direction in the Donetsk region.
That day, the military fired several shots at the Russians and hid in a dugout with the journalists, the association says.
Olga Kovalova received a shrapnel wound in the axillary, supraclavicular, suprathoracic area and arm, and a chest fracture.
“I have three shrapnel wounds. Two shrapnel were removed from my body. All of them were near large blood vessels. However, doctors are currently not taking the risk of removing one shrapnel in order not to damage something. Currently, my right hand does not work completely,” Olga said.
The military provided her with first aid. According to the documentarian, the military medevac took her to the nearest field hospital, and from there to the military hospital in Pokrovsk.
Later, the photographer ended up in a civil hospital, and now she is in a hospital in Kharkiv. Currently, her condition is stable.
Vladyslav Krasnoshchok and the military received contusions.
“All the others who were in the dugout, fortunately, are unharmed. I was injured because I was sitting in the corner near the pipe – an improvised hood, from which the fragments fell.
I was saved by a bulletproof vest and a helmet. The shrapnel fell where there was no protection. It’s a pity that this happened on the first day of the business trip,” the photographer said.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, in the two years since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has killed 70 media workers in Ukraine. Of them, 10 died while performing journalistic tasks, 47 died as combatants, and 13 died as a result of Russian shelling or torture.