ABC News’ Martha Raddatz And Ian Pannell On The Human Side Of The Russian Invasion Of Ukraine
, based in Kyiv, each with decades of experience covering foreign affairs, said that one of the greater challenges is to capture the human side of what is happening.
The U.S. and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia, but President Joe Biden has said that U.S. troops will not be drawn into the war. That has made it all the more pressing for journalists to explain why the Ukraine conflict is still so important and relevant to Americans. Raddatz said that there is no sense of panic where she is, but people are lining up at banks, pharmacies and for water.
He went to bed on Kyiv about 2:45 AM local time on Thursday, and got a phone call at 4:15 AM informing him that Putin was about to address the nation. James Gillings, the ABC News photographer, had the camera “just with a shot out the window, and then we heard that first boom, and everyone just stopped and looked at each other. You have that collective moment where you almost feel each other’s hearts beating and realized, this was it.”
“I think the biggest shock for [Kyiv citizens] is that America is standing with Ukraine, as is Europe, but not militarily,” he said. “And when the troops come to your door, you are on your own. That’s kind of what’s going on at the moment.”