A war reporter on the ground in Kyiv has shared a disturbing clip of “civilian bodies” being taken away – including a mother and child who he says were killed.
Investigative journalist John Sweeney is currently on the ground in Kyiv, documenting the unfolding scenes and sharing them on Twitter (@johnsweeneyroar) with his 130,000 followers.
Posting today (2 March), John filmed himself in Kyiv to report on recent deaths in the capital – including that of a mother and child.
In the video, he says: “Vladimir Putin is killing civilians here in Kyiv.”
He also described an “old man” being “killed out in the street”.
Behind him in the clip, he shows a team from the morgue taking the bodies of the mother and child away.
He captioned the post: “TV Tower attack. Dead mother and child are taken away. What Vladimir Putin is doing is monstrous.”
The clip has been viewed more than 142,000 times and comes following the TV tower in Kyiv being hit by a Russian missile, where five people have been confirmed dead.
One person commented: “Vladimir Putin is a monster!”
“Monstrous,” another user agreed.
Someone else said: “Deeply upsetting.”
“Just dreadful. Heartbreaking,” added another viewer.
Another person commented: “No words. Truly horrific.”
Later, John posted a second video, captioning it: “The Russian state is saying it is not killing civilians. That is a lie. This morning in Kyiv I saw it with my own eyes.”
In the clip, he says: “I was the first reporter into the TV tower this morning even though I hitch-hiked to get there, and I saw the destruction to the control tower.
“The tower itself seemed intact but the control building had been smashed by missile.
“A worker had been killed, his body had been taken away but there was a puddle of blood about a metre-wide on the ground.”
John holds up a piece of shrapnel from the site, which he says is from the Russian missile.
He continues: “This stuff spins around at 900 miles per hour and it will kill any living thing in its path.”
Later, he adds: “The Russian state is telling its people it is not killing civilians. That is a lie. I saw it with my own eyes.”
Speaking to Jam Press on Monday (28 February), he describes the atmosphere in Kyiv: “It’s eerily quiet in the centre, the war is on the outskirts.
“You can see the anxiety scribbled on people’s faces, the tension and the fear.
“I’ve been in war zones in [former] Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Chechnya – I’ve seen this s**t again and again.
“I find it revolting that it’s happening in this beautiful city and I find it incredibly sad.
“I’ve been warning people about Putin since I covered the Second Chechen War in 2000.”
The award-winning journalist has unique insight into Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine, having once met the Russian President.
He describes the leader of one of the world’s biggest armies as “darker than the KGB” but believes that the leader has shot himself in the foot by crashing the rouble.
However, he still finds the future “frightening”.
John said: “This is the end game for Vladimir Putin, I think he’s made a great miscalculation.
“He has now screwed up his deal by effectively crashing the rouble, it’s a horrific mistake.
“The future is [still] frightening.
“Putin is in a kind of dungeon of his own devices and there’s so little light.
“He doesn’t understand the 21st century.”
John is sharing the reality of life on the frontline on Twitter – including an unfiltered take on what he gets up to in the evenings.
On Monday (28 February), he had a spaghetti bolognese dinner with fellow journalist friends while the bombs fell in the background, and he has also shared a clip of himself cooking Chicken Kyiv with a vodka twist which went viral with over 40,000 views.
