{"id":38565,"date":"2024-07-15T08:25:47","date_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/ni-photographer-caught-in-russian-ambush\/"},"modified":"2024-07-15T08:25:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-15T08:25:49","slug":"ni-photographer-caught-in-russian-ambush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/ni-photographer-caught-in-russian-ambush\/","title":{"rendered":"NI photographer caught in Russian ambush"},"content":{"rendered":"


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By\u00a0Adam Mandeville,\u00a0<\/span>BBC News NI<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Conall Kearney is a conflict photographer from Belfast<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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A Belfast conflict photographer has spoken of his experience in a Russian ambush whilst reporting on the war in Ukraine. <\/p>\n

Conall Kearney had been commissioned by Ukrainian government funded United24 to join a unit on what was intended to be a simple reconnaissance mission along the frontline. <\/p>\n

The attack in May this year lasted 14 hours with Mr Kearney sustaining numerous injuries. <\/p>\n

Speaking to BBC News NI, he said he is “lucky to be alive”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

‘It is like an addiction’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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Mr Kearney said he had always been interested in how the story of war and conflict is documented.<\/p>\n

His job has seen him travel the world but his first forays into conflict photography were a lot closer to home, documenting “various riots and parades” in Belfast.<\/p>\n

He later moved to Berlin and began to cover various protests and riots.<\/p>\n

The photographer also reported on the Hong Kong ‘Umbrella Revolution’, as well as the 2022 Lebanon Election. <\/p>\n

“It is like an addiction. You chase this buzz,” Mr Kearney said. <\/p>\n

“You’ve still got this genuine interest in the topic, but there is a thrill, especially when a situation is completely crazy and you come out unscathed with great photos.<\/p>\n

“It’s definitely something you chase too much at times.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Some of the Kayfariki unit following the ambush<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Mr Kearney first visited Ukraine in 2018 and said he “instantly fell in love with the country”. <\/p>\n

When war broke out five years later, he described it as a “no brainer” that he had to go. <\/p>\n

“It was a direct train from Berlin to the Ukrainian border; within a week I was on the Russian border.”<\/p>\n

Mr Kearney was one of last journalists in Bakhmut, a Ukrainian city captured by Russian forces in February 2023. <\/p>\n

He saw both the peak of the battle and the Russian military entering the city.<\/p>\n

He also witnessed the Russian advance in the Avdiivka region, as well as the siege of Kharkiv. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A member of the Kayfariki unit<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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In May, Mr Kearney and a colleague joined the Kayfariki unit, a Ukrainian military group made up of left-wing FC Arsenal Kyiv fans.<\/p>\n

For safety reasons, he withheld specific details of the location, though confirmed it occurred in the Donbas region. <\/p>\n

Unbeknownst to the Ukrainian forces, Russia had identified the unit’s location and had planned an attack. <\/p>\n

It was not until the early hours of the final day that this plan was put into action.<\/p>\n

Mr Kearney said his unit was bombarded for three hours. <\/p>\n

“Once this ended, a convoy of tanks drove into our town. All hell broke loose.”<\/p>\n

This initiated 14 hours of back and forth gunfire, artillery and drones. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A Kayfariki soldier standing just metres from Russian forces<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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Mr Kearney estimated there were roughly 70 Russian soldiers, compared to the eight Ukrainian fighters.<\/p>\n

He recalled that the Russians were so close he could hear them strategising.<\/p>\n

Asking the commander what the plan should be, he was met with the response: “Dying is not part of the plan. We\u2019re going to escape, but it\u2019s probably not going to work.” <\/p>\n

Outnumbered, injured, and quickly running out of ammunition, their situation was untenable. <\/p>\n

“I accepted I was dead,” said Mr Kearney. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

An injured Kayfariki soldier poses for the camera<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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When he asked how one of the injured soldiers felt, the only reply was: “I don\u2019t feel anything, we\u2019re already dead.<\/p>\n

“Everybody was injured,” said the photographer. “We could hear the Russians screaming for our blood. <\/p>\n

“There was a point where the commander was like ‘this is probably it’. When you hear something like that, I think back over my life and think ‘I had a good run’.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Two Kayfariki soldiers outside the reconnaissance point <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

‘Beyond a miracle’<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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“Once night came we just sprinted out the back,” said Mr Kearney. <\/p>\n

He described how the unit ran three kilometres, facing Russian gunfire the entire time. <\/p>\n

“How they didn\u2019t hit any of us is beyond a miracle.”<\/p>\n

Eventually, the group escaped beyond the reach of the Russian guns and were rescued by Ukrainian troops. <\/p>\n

They survived with zero casualties. <\/p>\n

“I\u2019m definitely one of the lucky ones,” the photographer explained. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"ConallConall Kearney<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A Kayfariki soldiers watches as a building burns <\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n
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The Belfast man has already been back to Ukraine to catch up with the unit, which is now back on the frontline. <\/p>\n

“I met them all. They were in pretty good spirits,” he said.<\/p>\n

During the ambush, Mr Kearney heard his comrades constantly repeating a phrase he could not understand. <\/p>\n

“When it finally got translated, I found out it was that the guys saying ‘I love you’ to each other.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

3 hours ago By\u00a0Adam Mandeville,\u00a0BBC News NI Conall Kearney Conall Kearney is a conflict photographer from Belfast A Belfast conflict photographer has spoken of his experience in a Russian ambush whilst reporting on the war in Ukraine. Conall Kearney had been commissioned by Ukrainian government funded United24 to join a unit on what was intended […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38566,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[48],"tags":[14316,4655,264,921],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38565"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38567,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38565\/revisions\/38567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38566"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kede.com.br\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}