Itai Anghel, 53, has been in many war zones since the early 1990s, from the Croatian and Bosnian civil wars, during the disintegration of Yugoslavia, to the fighting in Iraq and Syria. He is now in Kiev, Ukraine’s capital, the target of a Russian invasion more than a week ago.
An Israeli journalist, the reporter says he found in the country ample respect for his nationality — an experience opposite to what he had in other conflicts. He therefore says he does not see any support for Vladimir Putin’s argument that the East European country’s government is neo-Nazi.
But the good experience in this aspect does not cancel out the scenes of violence that he has been recording while collecting material for Israel’s Channel 12, one of the most popular in the country, and for a future documentary.
THE sheet, from the hotel where he is staying, Anghel reports what he has observed, especially the daily life of the small town of Irpin, on the outskirts of Kiev, a strategic point to reach the capital. He also tells about a recent interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky, the criticism made by the Ukrainian leader of Israel’s lack of help and a conversation he had, by video call, with a former Putin adviser.
On the second day here, I thought, “Okay, it’s a nice place, but nothing else is going to happen, so maybe it’s time to catch a flight home.” It’s amazing, because I usually have a pretty good idea of ​​what’s to come, but I kind of failed this time. We had very good opening days in Kiev, and then suddenly it all started.
There is a town on the outskirts of Kiev called Irpin that is in constant dispute. It has a bridge that serves as a kind of artery to the capital — if the Russians take it, they will have an open path.
Then the Ukrainians blew up the bridge over the river that connects the two parts of the city. People cross this stretch all the time, passing through the freezing water with the help of soldiers, trying to escape.
There was a very heavy bombing there. It was the most dangerous day we have witnessed. We were on the side of the road and “boom!”, we saw several houses burning. There are bodies in the streets, houses destroyed. The people who are still there may not be alive for the next few hours. We saw the dogs circling the houses, looking for their owners. I felt I was documenting a very dark chapter of history.
When we arrived here, even in the early days, it was very difficult — almost impossible — to work. And that was very frustrating from a journalistic point of view, of course. There was a curfew, we couldn’t even go out for ten minutes, let alone use our gear.
There is still no Russian invasion of Kiev, but there are small groups of Russian spies that penetrate the city. They are hiding in some houses. So naturally, there is a lot of mistrust when a foreigner arrives. And actually, I can understand the population.
One day I was trying to use my camera and I was threatened; they even pointed a Kalashnikov (or AK-47, from the Soviet era) at a Brazilian friend who was with me. I’ve been with him in Iraq, in Islamic State territory, where we face very dangerous situations, and this time he said, “It was the first time I thought I was going to die.”
But then something happened. The war became real, it gained scale. It became very dangerous, and most Israeli journalists left. It was me and another colleague. And, as the number of journalists has decreased a lot, something else has also changed in the relationship with the press: now people know us.
I met a local photographer and asked if he had friends who were preparing to defend the city. He asked me to wait a few minutes and go to a location. When we got there, we saw the volunteers. That day alone they prepared 500 Molotov cocktails. During the week there were thousands.
And they don’t just hand them over to soldiers, but also to neighbors, who keep them at home, and to those in cars, in case they pass a Russian tank. a sniper [atirador de elite] also took us to one of the tallest buildings in the city to show us how he works.
Yesterday we had a sudden message: one of the soldiers on the front line told us: “You have to go to the government palace in two hours”. We asked why, and he said he couldn’t tell us, only that we should be there. They put us in a car with tinted windows so we couldn’t see the outside. We landed inside a building, a real labyrinth, with everything very dark. And then a door opens and there’s a message on the wall: President’s Office.
With a simple shirt, Volodymyr Zelensky did not want to use the pulpit available. He preferred a plastic chair. And it was a very curious moment, because he was laughing to himself: “We’re all very ill-connected, aren’t we? It seems like we’ve only slept three hours in the last few weeks.”
But then he got very serious about Putin. I asked him about Israel, which has the best missile technologies. I asked if he had tried to get help, equipment and military technology, if he had any expectations. He was very emotional and grateful to the people of Israel, especially for images of many people, with the Ukrainian flag, praying at the Wailing Wall.
But he was also very critical of the government. He told me, “Israel and Ukraine have a very good relationship, but friendships, in times like these, are tested; and Israel is failing, it’s not helping us at all.” Zelensky is one of the most curious figures I’ve ever talked to. Three weeks ago he was considered a comedian, in an unusual position for him, and suddenly he’s being compared to Winston Churchill by some people.
With the war going on, it is possible to see similarities with other conflicts. When they took me to the sniper position, I was reminded of Bosnia. The bombed TV tower in Kiev reminded me of Kosovo, when a TV station in Belgrade was bombed, because, after all, it’s a propaganda war.
But the rest is completely different. We know that this war will not stop at Ukraine’s borders. It is not a question of agglutinating the Donbass or taking some areas in the Black Sea. The Russians are absolutely convinced that Ukraine is the little brother who doesn’t know how to choose what’s best for him. And Putin is willing to bet everything.
I think he would like to be someone that we will never be able to play. We have no idea what he will or won’t do—and that’s what scares him the most, because it’s hard to make plans.
Here in Kiev, I spoke via Zoom with a former adviser to Putin, who told me that he had advised him to invade Crimea in 2014 and, from time to time, to go ahead with the invasion. “And Putin waited eight years, he is a very patient man,” he commented. I said that many would laugh at what he had just said.
It’s my first time in Ukraine, even though I have a grandfather who was born here. I wonder what he would think if he were alive, because, after all, young people like him watched World War II, when some Ukrainians collaborated with the Nazis. Afterwards, a lot changed. It’s not that there’s no anti-Semitism in there, but I feel very safe and comfortable here in saying that I’m Jewish.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of propaganda in this war, with Russia referring to the government of Ukraine as neo-Nazi. Foreigners and even the Russian population can take this seriously. But I have met many Jews here, many who are joining the armed militias. And they are Ukrainians, they are patriotic. In some coverages, like Iraq or Syria, where I was many times, I had to hide my Israeli ID and use my international passport.
In Irpin, the town I mentioned at the beginning, I met a man who, upon discovering that I was from Israel, said that we had a lot in common. He told me that they would defeat the Russians thanks to Elohim — the Hebrew word for God. And suddenly, he started singing “Hava Nagila,” the most traditional song in Jewish history — and smiling. That for me was the most real experience so far.
How long will I be here? I hope as much as possible. I came here to be with people, to keep up with the moment. When something happens, I can’t run away and leave them, as if it’s too hard for me and only they have to deal with. I care. That’s what I’ve done all my life, I try to be in the most interesting place at the most crucial moment.
