In SVT’s program The correspondents live Elin Jönsson and Bengt Norborg describe the difficulties in reporting from Ukraine. According to Elin Jönsson, the hardest thing is interviewing people who then die.
– Even if you know that soldiers die in war, it is difficult when you have come so close, she says.
Scared and at full throttle
The correspondents also describe the concern for their own safety when they go out to the front.
– If you are not at full strength and feel fear, then maybe something is wrong, says Bengt Norborg.
He points out that once you get to the front line and jump into a trench, you can blow your breath.
– You are actually safer there than when you are exposed.
Bengt Norborg also describes that as a war correspondent you think a lot about the so-called artillery distance.
– They shoot approximately a maximum of three miles. If you are within these three miles, you are also at full throttle.
He adds that he relaxes when he is further away than that.
– Although cruise robots can basically fall down everywhere. But the statistical probability of that is quite small, maybe the same as traffic accidents.
“Normal journalistic consideration”
Another challenge war correspondents face is getting accurate information about what is actually happening.
– The Ukrainians have been quite good at reporting correctly and also correcting things that have gone wrong, says Bengt Norborg.
– But they are very good at keeping quiet when it happens the most, adds Elin Jönsson.
Bengt Norborg clarifies that the Ukrainians clearly have their own interests to take care of and thus choose what they want to show off.
– It is normal journalistic consideration to decide whether it is worth jumping on what they want to show, he says and adds that he has not felt manipulated.
Hear Elin Jönsson about the glimmers of light in wartime Ukraine in the clip.