Plenty of news outlets in the United States have correspondents in various parts of Ukraine covering the conflict with Russia.
ABC News has two journalists in the region reporting the Russian invasion chief global affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz, stationed in Lviv, and senior foreign correspondent Ian Pannell, based in Kyiv.
The two reporters providing coverage for the news network spoke to Deadline about the challenges of capturing the human side of what is happening in the country.
“One of the things that has always been important to me in covering war is the cost of war, and I don’t mean in dollars,” Raddatz said. “I mean in human treasure. I mean life-altering changes.”
Raddatz shared a quick note regarding a local journalist in Lviv who has been helping ABC News with coverage in Ukraine, telling her of having to console his 7-year-old daughter on Thursday morning after she woke up to the sound of air-raid sirens.
“There are parents out there who are terrified for their children right now and whether their lives will change,” she said. “Those are real people who are going to go through a horrible experience. The line of refugees right now, I’m told, is 25 to 30 hours.”
“That’s now. Imagine what it will be in a week. Frankly, I tell all the young people I work with, ‘Don’t ever forget the cost of war. Don’t get caught up in the bombs and the explosions and talking about equipment and military this and that.’ There are people involved in this, and I think we always have to remember that.”
Meanwhile, Pannell informed Deadline that “getting people to care I think is the hardest thing. Seeing stories of conflict through the eyes of people who are affected always resonates much more with people.”
The U.S. and its allies have levied more sanctions against Russia, but President Joe Biden has stated that it will not be drawn into war. As a result, Pannel says it is pressing for journalists covering the Ukraine conflict to illustrate why it is still important to Americans.
“Ukrainians are very much like us,” Pannell said. “They expect tomorrow is going to look like today. And Ukrainians have had the same guarantee, and they have just suddenly had the rug pulled from beneath their feet, and it is trying to show that shock on people’s faces as they realize what is going on.”
Eduardo Razo is the Assistant Content Editor for BNM, which includes writing daily news stories on the news media industry. He can be found on Twitter @eddierazo_ or you can reach him by email at eddie1991razo@gmail.com.
