A Ukrainian newspaper editor reporting from deserted squares in central Kyiv. A Buzzfeed correspondent tweeting about air-raids in Kramatorsk. BBC and ITV News reporters sharing hour-by-hour updates from Ukraine’s metro stations, school playgrounds and missiled cities.
The situation in Ukraine is evolving by the minute and the most insightful reporting is from those who are there in the thick of it all, on the ground.
From the US war reporter interviewing brave Ukrainian soldiers to the Ukrainian freelancer live-tweeting the human stories from families, here are some of the most reliable journalists to follow for updates.
Olga Tokariuk
Twitter handle: @olgatokariuk
Follower count: 119,000
Follow freelancer Tokariuk for the human stories.
Her Twitter feed paints a minute-by-minute picture of the desperate situation among the people there, from pictures of families sheltering in Metro stations to screenshots of her friend’s posts on Facebook amid the crisis.
“These are real people,” she reminded followers this morning.
Sarah Rainsford
Twitter handle: @sarahrainsford
Follower count: 43,200
The BBC’s Eastern Europe Correspondent was famously expelled from Moscow last summer after 20 years reporting from Russia (she’s written a book about it).
Now you’ll find her reporting from the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, interviewing mothers at playgrounds trying to go on as normal, bus drivers trying to calm passengers, and orphans taking evacuation trains west out of the country in search of safety.
As the first day of this war without cause ends, Ukrainians are building checkpoints, fortifying their cities. There’s now a 2200 curfew, shops are closing early, streets emptying out. Many cars are heading west from the Donbas, looking for relative safety pic.twitter.com/FmRv5CHG45
— Sarah Rainsford (@sarahrainsford) February 24, 2022
Christopher Miller
Twitter handle: @ChristopherJM
Follower count: 217,700
I wrote a few words about what the past 24 hrs have been like in Ukraine and covering events. You get the sense this is an existential fight. Putin doesn’t want Ukraine to exist.
— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) February 25, 2022
This Is What It Was Like In Ukraine When Russia’s Attack Changed Everything https://t.co/U7rU7XlAYx
Buzzfeed’s national security and extremism correspondent, stationed in Ukraine. He’s spent 11 years in Eastern Europe and retweets footage and insights from contacts on the ground alongside his own reports.
“The blasts shook the walls, illuminated my room even through thick curtains, and jolted me up,” he wrote of yesterday’s early-morning airstrike in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk.
Olga Rudenko
Twitter handle: @olya_rudenko
Follower count: 53,400
Please follow us at @KyivIndependent, most of us are on the ground in #Kyiv working to provide you with the latest news. It’s extremely stressful. No one knows where it is safe to be, or whether there will be more strikes and where, and Russian troops are moving from the north. pic.twitter.com/6gXgeSEM1V
— Olga Rudenko (@olya_rudenko) February 24, 2022
Rudenko’s piece-to-camera from a square near a university in central Kyiv yesterday has already received more than 22,000 likes and 6,000 retweets. “Everything is closed right now except for pharmacies and grocery stores,” said the editor of the Kyiv Independent newspaper, calling the situation “extremely stressful”.
“Normally this area would’ve been very lively at this time of the day... The mood here is rather grim.” Her publication @KyivIndependent is a reliable source of English-language updates from the Ukrainian capital - follow its Telegram channel for all the news.
Dan Rivers
Twitter handle: @danriversitv
Follower count: 28,000
Kharkiv Subway tonight. Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2. Shocking. Where on earth will this all end? pic.twitter.com/zjryDyIna7
— Dan Rivers (@danriversitv) February 24, 2022
“Like something from the Blitz in London during WW2,” Rivers tweeted last night from a subway in Kharkiv, a city in northeast Ukraine.
The ITV News correspondent’s latest retweets include footage of tanks in southern Ukraine.
Nolan Peterson
Twitter handle: @nolanpeterson
Follower count: 215,000
The former US special operations pilot has been based in Ukraine since 2014. He recently wrote a story about a Ukrainian journalist and war veteran called Oleksandr Makhov, who had a ‘veteran suitcase’ packed and ready in case he was mobilised.
This morning, he sent Peterson a picture and said “I am in the Army”.
You can read the full story at Peterson’s site coffeeordie.com.
A couple weeks ago I wrote a story about Oleksandr Makhov, a Ukrainian journalist & war veteran who had a ‘veteran’s suitcase’ ready to go w/all his gear in case he was mobilized.
— Nolan Peterson (@nolanwpeterson) February 25, 2022
Today he sent me this photo and said: “I am in the Army.”
Story: https://t.co/E3kdBzd3xj pic.twitter.com/udUEEhRevO
Bryce Wilson
Twitter handle: @brycewilsonau
Follower count: 28,100
I’m honestly overwhelmed right now. I hope I can come back to Donbas one day. But I feel like I’m driving away and it’ll be the last time I’m here. There were journalists in Kramatorsk who didn’t have armour or IFAKs. One foreign journalist was almost crying with fear.
— Bryce Wilson (@brycewilsonAU) February 24, 2022
Australian photojournalist covering Ukraine since 2015. He’s currently stationed in the east of the country.
“So worried for my friend,” he tweeted this morning about his friend in Kyiv. “He is going to collect his rifle from the military, and prepare to defend Kyiv. Russian troops are expected to be on the outskirts of Kyiv soon. He told me to take care of his wife. F*** war.”
Michael Downey
Twitter handle: @mgdowney (@michaeldowneyphoto on Instagram)
Follower count: 1,349 followers
The photojournalist and documentary filmmaker is currently stationed in Ukraine reporting for the New York Times.
He’s been covering the civilian toll in the capital, as well as Russian forces approach the Kiev.
Tom Mutch
Twitter handle: @Tomthescribe
Follower count: 1,100
The streets of #Kyiv now are almost completely deserted. Usually such an energetic, vibrant city. This is what #Russia's war has done here. pic.twitter.com/FvIq1pBizS
— Tom Mutch (@Tomthescribe) February 25, 2022
Minute-by-minute, down-to-earth reporting from the streets of Kyiv.
The New Zealand crime and conflict reporter is used to reporting from the frontline but says the situation in Kyiv is “unbelievable” and “really terrifying”, though he’s amazed at Ukrainians’ bravery and refusal to panic.
Since the seige he’s been meeting people camping out at metro stations (including a young couple seeing the air-raids out with a few bottles of whisky).
Young couple sheltering in #Kyiv metro from expected Russian airstrike. Well prepared with a few bottles of whiskey. #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ziyhvYE3rA
— Tom Mutch (@Tomthescribe) February 24, 2022
Last night he called the Russian missile onslaught “absolute barbarity”.
Mutch writes mostly for The Daily Beast and the Byline Times - next week he’ll be writing an exclusive report for the Evening Standard about Ukraine’s first weekend at war, from bomb shelters in metro stations to families fleeing to Poland and civilians wandering the streets with rifles.
