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Russian Shahed Drone Attacks Suspilne Crew Reporting on Strike on Miners in Dnipropetrovsk Region
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![Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko]( "Photo of Dariia Mykhailenko")
A Suspilne Dnipro news crew came under a Russian Shahed drone attack while reporting from the site of a strike on a civilian bus carrying miners in the city of Ternivka in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region on February 2.
The incident was confirmed to the Institute of Mass Information’s regional representative Kateryna Lysiuk by Suspilne correspondent Anton Sirenko.
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On February 2, journalists arrived in Ternivka to film the aftermath of a Russian drone strike that had occurred the previous day near a bus transporting civilian DTEK miners. Another drone later hit people who had already been wounded and were trying to help one another escape the bus.
After documenting the scene, the crew was preparing to go live on Suspilne’s national broadcast marathon when they heard gunfire and then noticed a strike drone approaching their position.
“I was finishing the text for the live segment, my colleague—the cameraman—was framing the shot, when we heard crackling sounds [automatic gunfire], became alert, started listening, and only then heard and saw the ‘Shahed.’ It was flying straight at us,” Anton Sirenko said.
The journalists were wearing protective equipment, including body armor and helmets marked PRESS. With no shelters nearby, they attempted to shield themselves behind a fence.
“We were wearing body armor and helmets, we always work in gear marked PRESS, and tried to at least take some kind of cover under a fence—something like an imitation of a wall—because there were no shelters nearby… At the last second, the ‘Shahed’ sharply turned and struck—once again, like the day before—the mine,” Sirenko said.
According to him, the drone struck roughly 700 meters from their location. The correspondent, cameraman, and driver were unharmed.
Following the explosion, the crew quickly left the area. Later, while already in the city center, they heard another blast and saw a column of smoke rising about one kilometer away.
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Russia is systematically endangering and targeting journalists covering the war in Ukraine.
In one such case, a reporting team from the German outlet Welt came under a Russian drone strike while working alongside a Ukrainian air defense unit in eastern Ukraine.
According to Naber, a Russian Lancet drone struck the position some 25–30 kilometers behind the front line. The attack killed a Ukrainian soldier named Konstantin and seriously wounded another serviceman.
Members of the media team were also injured. Naber’s producer, Ivan, required surgery following the strike, while cameraman Viktor Lysenko and Naber himself sustained minor injuries.
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The journalists had been interviewing the three soldiers just moments before the drone attack and were clearly identified as members of the press at the time, Naber said. Footage filmed by Lysenko captured both the explosion and its immediate aftermath and was later published by Welt as part of its reporting on the incident.
Earlier, while working near the front line, UNITED24 Media cameraman Yegor Terletskyi and reporter Philip Malzahn were targeted in a sudden Russian FPV drone attack. The fiber-optic-guided drone had been concealed along the roadside before striking.
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-81ccd0c5911e68a7a8d5f2fdf78e447c.png "Russia Intensifies Air War, Launches Record 5,700 Guided Bomb Attacks in January")
-72b63a4e0c8c475ad81fe3eed3f63729.jpeg "Photo of Cyril Barabaltchouk")
