Journalists injured as car hits mine near Pokrovsk

A 5 Kanal vehicle struck a magnetic mine near Pokrovsk, leaving journalists concussed and the driver with leg injuries.

This was reported on-air by war correspondent Olha Kalynovska, who was preparing a report on the situation near Pokrovsk.

“Usually, when vehicles, including ours, travel the roads to Pokrovsk, reconnaissance teams and drone operators carefully check the routes. If there are mines, they drop charges to clear them and make the roads safe. But as I said, we spent a long time on the road with our ‘partners.’ Drones were constantly flying overhead, and apparently at that moment, a magnetic mine was dropped. It landed among debris that was already there. At that bend, a vehicle had previously been burned and hit, with lots of enemy drone remnants scattered, so the mine went unnoticed. And that’s how we triggered it,” she explained.

Kalynovska added that the group traveled late at night and took six hours to reach Pokrovsk due to the threat of Russian strike drones. According to her, the Russians know all remaining routes to the town and are actively mining them.

After the vehicle was hit, the team hid in nearby vegetation.

“Then there was another challenge: we knew the Russians saw the vehicle explode. They realized a crew was there and started searching for us. Our task was to reach the nearest trench and hide. We covered 200–300 meters in over an hour. It was 20–30 seconds of movement, then lying down, falling, hugging trees. The goal was simply to hide in the greenery, as two to three drones circled above us constantly. Fortunately, they didn’t spot us,” she said.

Kalynovska noted that the driver suffered the most severe injuries, including bruises and fractured leg bones, while members of the filming crew suffered concussions.

Earlier, Ukrinform reported that on the Pokrovsk front, where Russian forces are most active, 25 clashes were recorded today.

Illustrative photo