Eight years ago, what seemed impossible in 21st century Europe took place: the territory of an independent state, the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula, was occupied and seized by Russia in early 2014. On February 24, 2022, the aggressor Russia invaded Ukraine again with one goal – to deprive the Ukrainians of the right to live in a free and independent country in the family of democratic European countries.
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Jānis Vingris reported from Ukraine just before and after the start of the Russian attack:
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it was full of tourists. People didn’t seem to believe there was a real threat of an attack. And then, in a few days, the capital of millions of people turned into a ghost – almost empty, lined with block posts, which were built by both soldiers and civilians. Reinforced concrete blocks, sawn trees, lantern poles, tram cars, trucks, sandbags, tires, self-welded anti-tank hedges were all part of the defensive blocks. Clashes with saboteurs, rocket attacks and the shadow of a major offensive threat to the capital became commonplace. From Irpina, Bucha, Hostomel flowed people to the semi-deserted Kiev, and from there evacuation trains – to the west. ”
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Jānis Vingris is the author of TVNET GROUP multimedia stories, film director. Specializes in reporting and stories from conflict zones, military security and various socio-political events in Latvia. Has produced reports from Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia, Donbass, Syria and Iraq.
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John Vingra’s reports from Ukraine are looking for here!
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