TV4 News reporter Johan Fredriksson is in the Zaporizhzhya region together with photographer Martin Gustafsson. In the past few days, they have gotten close to the fighting in Ukraine, and tonight they show a report about the farmers at the front who continue to work. But what is it really like to travel around the war-torn country?
How does the offense feel where you are?
– The military can be seen in every city. The further east and south you get towards the front, the more soldiers you see everywhere in the cityscape. Should you go anywhere in this country at all, there are checkpoints with armed military outside every city and in many other places as well where you have to show documents. In addition, you see destroyed, bombed houses, says Johan Fredriksson.
What is it like as a journalist to move so close to the front?
– As a foreign reporter who covers wars and conflicts, it is a necessary measure for me to get as close as possible to the battles from time to time in order to read the situation myself. It is impossible to imagine what it is like to work in a war zone unless you have been there yourself. You acquire knowledge and lessons that you cannot get in any other way. Of course there are risks with this, but it is also the case that we are experienced and have done this for many years.
What kind of feelings do you encounter in Ukrainian soldiers you talk to?
– Many people just try to step into a kind of work mode where you focus on surviving and on the tasks you have. There is not much room to express any feelings.
– It is clear that many of them, people who had ordinary occupations before the war, are traumatized. They are deeply emotionally affected by what is happening, but many of them are there voluntarily and have chosen to stand up for Ukraine’s freedom, so there is also a sense of pride in what you are doing.