NR25

The article “Ukraine Invaded Russia. Here’s What It Was Like for Civilians.” in the New York Times provided the most detailed account to-date of the human toll of the first invasion of Russian territory since World War II. The journalists interviewed nearly 20 Russian civilians and reviewed videos posted by Ukrainian and Russian soldiers, as well as photographs and satellite imagery to lift the veil of secrecy surrounding Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region of Russia.
Reporting has shown that Kursk civilians have been targeted in the fighting, a potential war crime.

Covering the Kursk incursion has been unusually challenging, because both sides of the conflict have reasons to downplay the human cost of the incursion, which has thrust Ukraine into an unexpected role of an occupier for the first time in its history. Cellphone towers have been destroyed, making it hard to reach residents. The region is largely closed to independent reporters, and civilians affected by the fighting have been reluctant to speak for fear of breaking Russia’s draconian information laws or angering Ukrainian occupying forces.

In a presentation, NYT foreign correspondent Anatoly Kurmanaev and freelance investigative journalist Ekaterina Bodyagina would share their strategies for covering a conflict when physical access is blocked and neither side has an incentive to cooperate.