Much evidence to support this theory is provided in Reporting the War in Ukraine, a fascinating new book featuring candid contributions from some of Britain’s best-known war correspondents. They admit they have significant limitations in reporting on the chaotic and often life-threatening conditions where the front line is fluid and trust is almost non-existent. Reporting the War in Ukraine features essays from star reporters at the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and national newspapers. Put aside any idea you might have that, in an age of smartphones, social media and drone cameras, every shooting, bombing or atrocity is instantly recorded and uploaded online. So much of this conflict happens in the dark, out of the media’s gaze or suppressed by censors. Russia’s media blackout we know. Moscow’s invasion forces have blocked independent scrutiny, helping state television to continue its propaganda for a war of liberation. This information gap means that the Western public has a one-sided view of the war. But Ukraine is also responsible for the obstruction of the truth. As the book reveals, Kyiv seeks strict media controls and absolute censorship. While there may be good reasons for secrecy, this is a dangerous game: Ukraine needs the oxygen of international media coverage to prevail. Reporting the War in Ukraine features essays from star reporters at the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and national newspapers. Channel 4 News’ Alex Thomson talks about Kyiv’s manipulation of the media using simple ‘multi-layered military media ID’ cards, without which it is impossible for journalists to operate. This accreditation system “gives the Ukrainians brilliant control over the media,” Thomson claims. “Foul and they can confiscate the press pass: game over!” He remembers how a Dutch reporter was kicked out of Ukraine after live broadcasting a Russian attack on an oil facility in Odessa. The deportation “crossed the foreign press across Ukraine with lightning speed and deep penetration.” When the aftermath of a subsequent missile attack on Kyiv was “filmed by several international TV crews”, Ukrainian censors stepped in. “To this day this strategic strike by a Russian missile in the heart of the capital has never been reported. Even less reported,” Thomson writes. BBC Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon, who has done three shows on Ukraine since the invasion, supports some of Thomson’s comments. “We are not allowed to film any Ukrainian military positions, nor can we film the immediate aftermath of a missile attack,” he writes. “The authorities insist that we wait 24 hours after the attack, so as not to give out information about victims.” Kenyon describes “tiny soldiers with convulsions” at Ukrainian checkpoints. And ITV’s Rohit Kachroo says he was pulled from the vehicles by “jumpy” Ukrainian soldiers “wondering whether the groups claiming to be journalists were Russian agents in disguise”. John Mair, co-editor of the book, says we should not confuse the proximity of this war with the ease of access to information, saying: “The challenge for British journalists … is not just security, but keeping the right side of it until moment of invisibility Ukrainian censorship machine”. According to Thomson, Ukraine’s censorship is “subtle” – compared to Russia’s killing of dissident journalists – “but surprisingly effective”. He also notes that the use of drone cameras made journalists look like military combatants and that Russian troops shooting a Sky News crew in February had a “chilling effect” on editors who allowed British journalists to go to the front lines. In the book, Sky’s Stuart Ramsay describes that attack, in which he was injured. “There appears to have been a concerted effort, a specific tactic, by the Russians to make fear, violence and death a tool of their war as opposed to a consequence of it.” All this prevents full media coverage. Meanwhile, national strikes and the royal jubilee at home and the rollback of abortion rights in America have pushed the war up the news agenda. We can admire the brave Volodymyr Zelensky for his deft use of social media and engaging presentation skills on video calls. We can watch images of the burning shopping mall in Kremenchuk and think we have a full and immediate picture of the effects of Russia’s bombing. But as journalists on the ground know, this is a uniquely difficult war to cover. Despite Ukraine’s fear of Russian saboteurs and giving away strategic secrets, it needs to do more to help journalists do their jobs to keep its dangerous place at the forefront of the world’s mind.
