Something that seemed impossible in Europe in the 21st century happened eight years ago: the territory of an independent state, the Crimean Peninsula of Ukraine, was occupied and seized by Russia in early 2014. On 24 February 2022, the aggresor Russia invaded Ukraine again with one aim in mind: to deprive Ukrainians of their right to live in a free and independent state within the family of democratic European states.
Jānis Vingris reported from Ukraine both before and after the start of the recent Russia’s attack: “Kyiv was a surreal place just before and after the Russian attack. Just a few hours before the attack, the city was bustling with life and was full of tourists. People didn’t seem to believe that there was a real threat of an attack. And then within a few days the Ukraine's capital that had a population of millions became a ghost– almost empty, covered with fortified checkpoints built by soldiers and civilians. Reinforced concrete blocks, felled trees, lampposts, tram cars, trucks, sandbags, tires, home-welded anti-tank hedgehogs were seen everywhere – they all became defensive fortifications. Clashes with saboteurs, rocket attacks, and the threat of a major offensive became everyday events for the capital. Streams of people from Irpin, Bucha, and Hostomel flowed to semi-deserted Kyiv, and from there evacuation trains headed westward."
Jānis Vingris is a multimedia documentarist and film director of the TVNET GRUPA. He specializes in reporting news and making stories from various conflict zones, military security, and significant socio-political events in Latvia. He has also reported from Georgia, Nagorno-Karabakh, the Donbass region of Ukraine, Syria, and Iraq.