Vadym Karpiak, who has seen his home destroyed in a Russian missile attack is host of ‘Freedom of Speech’ for ICTV one of the most popular current affairs programmes in Ukraine.
In a special video message sent from the TV studio where he and his colleagues are having to live in an underground bunker, Vadym told the Welsh Media audience that they are determined to keep free speech alive.
He said; “These few weeks of work in a bomb shelter have taught me….at war, thoughts become clearer and words become sharper. When you are this close to death you become very sensitive to other people’s grief and happiness. This very sensitiveness towards other people is now the sense of journalism to me.”
Vadym rejected the Kremlin’s description of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as a ‘military action’. He said; “This is not a crisis, not a conflict. It is a real war.”
Vadym’s wife and two children escaped the missile attack on their home. They now hope to take refuge in the UK while Vadym and his colleagues continue to report the war. He says they are determined to keep broadcasting as long as possible.