Events in Ukraine through the eyes of a journalist

Baku/04.04.22/Turan: Independent journalist Seymur Kazymov, who visited Ukraine, spoke about the horrors of Russian aggression against Ukraine in the Difficult Question program.

According to him, when he arrived in Ukraine with a group of Azerbaijani journalists, the war had been going on for a whole month.

“Even before the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the air smelled like a thunderstorm, we felt the threat of war. Therefore, at the beginning of February, i.e. before the war, we applied to the government of Ukraine for accreditation. But we received it only in mid-March,” said Seymur Kazymov. The journalist noted that since February 24, all flights to Kyiv were canceled, they had to look for ways to enter Ukraine.

“We had to go to Ukraine through Romania. Therefore, the route, which under normal circumstances can be overcome in 2 hours, turned into the Baku-Istanbul-Bucharest-Kiev route, and taking into account a 10-hour stay (overnight) in Romania lasted 28 hours. From Bucharest we had to get to the city of Suceava, and from there cross the border on foot to get to the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi. From there we traveled to Kiev by car for 8 hours,” says Kazimov.

He noted that they were warned not to use buses, because all vehicles are the target of Russian aviation and ground forces, which destroy buses and cars. According to him, a relatively safe mode of transport is rail, but journalists still ventured to go to Kyiv by car.

According to him, the city of Chernivtsi has actually turned into a transit point for IDPs and refugees. “Some of the refugees found refuge in this city, the other part is transported to Romania. As for the situation in Kiev, there are also many refugees there. We managed to visit the railway station where the refugees were staying and talk to them. Despite the trials that have fallen to their lot, people for the most part endure them steadfastly.

As for the regions where there have been and continue to be intense battles, civilians are under the threat of death.

“Just as Barda and Terter were bombed in 2020, cities and villages in the north-east of Ukraine are also under air and artillery attacks. In those cities that are threatened by air and artillery attacks, sirens are sounded, warning of the approach of enemy aircraft or the possibility of artillery strikes, so that people rush to bomb shelters and shelters. Raids can occur many times a day, and at any time of the day. In addition, a curfew has been introduced and it is unsafe to appear on the streets of cities in the evening,” says Kazimov.

According to him, our journalists today in Ukraine have witnessed exactly the same tragedy that Azerbaijan experienced 30 years ago, when, as a result of the Armenian aggression, hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes. “The horror that the Azerbaijani people experienced in 1992-1993 is experienced by Ukrainians today,” he said.—0—