A British journalist was shot in an ambush by Russian soldiers while covering the war in Ukraine this week.
Sky News chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay and his four colleagues were driving back to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv when they were ambushed on Monday, reported BBC.
Ramsay was travelling with camera operator Richie Mockler and producers Dominique Van Heerden, Martin Vowles and Andrii Lytvynenko.
As they tried to escape from the car, a bullet hit Ramsay in his lower back while camera operator Richie Mockler took two rounds to his body armor.
While still under fire, they fled and hid inside a factory building before being rescued by Ukrainian police.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted praising the Sky News crew’s bravery and said they were risking their lives.
“The courage of these journalists, putting themselves in terrifying and dangerous situations, is astonishing to watch. They’re risking their lives to ensure that the truth is told. Free press will not be intimidated or cowed by barbaric and indiscriminate acts of violence,” he said.
The courage of these journalists, putting themselves in terrifying and dangerous situations, is astonishing to watch.
They’re risking their lives to ensure that the truth is told.
Free press will not be intimidated or cowed by barbaric and indiscriminate acts of violence. https://t.co/eAwEJafTvQ
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) March 5, 2022
Ramsay narrates the incident
“On our way, in the distance, we could see Russian helicopter gunships criss-crossing in the air, noses dipping towards the ground as they opened fire…And then out of nowhere a small explosion and I saw something hit the car and a tyre burst. We rolled to a stop,” Ramsay told Sky News.
He said the first round cracked the windscreen.
“Camera operator Richie Mockler huddled into the front passenger footwell. Then we were under full attack. Bullets cascaded through the whole of the car, tracers, bullet flashes, windscreen glass, plastic seats, the steering wheel, and dashboard had disintegrated.”
“Producer Martin Vowles, who was driving, got out of the car first, quickly followed by Andrii Lytvynenko, our local producer, leaving me, Richie, and my producer Dominique Van Heerden inside, taking cover in the footwells and across the backseat,” Ramsay narrated.
It was at this point that Ramsay was shot and he shouted “I’ve been hit”.
“But what amazed me was that it didn’t hurt that bad. It was more like being punched, really. It was strange, but I felt very calm. I managed to put my helmet on, and was about to attempt my escape, when I stopped and reached back into a shelf in the door and retrieved my phones and my press card, unbelievably.”
The journalists later spotted a factory unit with an open gate and sprinted one at a time inside, looking for cover.
They were later rescued by Ukrainian police.
