‘Gonna quit war journalism’: Ukrainian journalist showered with love after tweet goes viral

After witnessing devastation every day up close, Illia Ponomarenko took to Twitter to vent out his frustration a little.

By: Trends Desk

New Delhi | Updated: April 7, 2022 11:53 AM IST

5 min read

ukraine war, russian invasion ukraine, bucha killings, ukraine journalist bucha killings, journalist quit war reporting, viral news, indian express

Illia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter with The Kyiv Independent, has been reporting from ground zero from Day 1 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Risking their lives, amid heavy shelling and attacks, scores of journalists are on the frontline reporting about the war in Ukraine. However, the gruesome atrocities committed by the Russian forces against civilians, including children, are taking a huge toll on their mental health. Now, a reporter’s tweet about quitting war journalism is tugging at people’s hearts online.

Illia Ponomarenko, a defence reporter with The Kyiv Independent, has been reporting from ground zero from Day 1 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24. After witnessing devastation every day up close, Ponomarenko took to Twitter Wednesday to vent out his frustration a little.

Also Read | Ukrainian journalist with BBC tears up seeing wreckage of home in Kyiv during live broadcast

“When this war is over, I’m gonna quit war journalism. F*** it,” Ponomarenko tweeted while he was reporting about the horrors in Bucha. “I’m gonna get a quiet remote place to live and will be writing stories of whales and polar explorers,” he added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an address to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) accused Russian troops of committing “the most terrible war crimes” since World War II on the streets of Bucha, where more than 300 bodies were found.

Earlier in the day, while reporting from the suburbs of Kyiv, where evidence of grisly civilian massacres has shocked the world, he wrote that his old apartment in Bucha survived. “This used to be a section of my favorite cycling route running through Bucha. I now I can hardly recognize many of the streets I used to know in the Kyiv Oblast,” Ponomarenko wrote in another tweet.

As he continued with his reporting, the tweet about quitting war journalism got wider attention after former Ukrainian ambassador to Austria Olexander Scherba retweeted it. Many thronged to the post to send him lots of love and praised him for his courage and resilience.

While praying for his safety and hoping the war would end soon, many commented with pictures and videos to offer him some solace, as others invited him to beautiful places when things get better.
https://twitter.com/PianoMermaid/status/1511492893546065921

https://twitter.com/pete2528ca/status/1511510314067578883

https://twitter.com/MestrAndreh/status/1511629760811655173

https://twitter.com/JayJack2568/status/1511504096385249300

From the homepage