The moment when a CNN team escapes a Russian attack on the city of Mykolaiv

A CNN news team was surprised on Monday by a Russian attack near the city of Mykolaiv. The incident occurred while the group led by correspondent Ben Wedeman was filming.

In the images you can see the CNN team - escorted by Ukrainian soldiers - recording in an open field until at one point a loud rumble is heard. A Russian shell had fallen a few meters away.

The journalistic group and the uniformed men threw themselves to the ground and covered themselves on a slope covered by branches. Wedeman urged his cameraman, John Tory Goey, to continue recording.

Seconds later, two other Russian artillery shells fell close to their position.

After confirming that no one had been injured, a Ukrainian officer told translator Valeria Dubravka that they should leave the area at that time. Then, the five members of the CNN team race to the two cars they had arrived in.

However, one of the vehicles had been hit by shrapnel from the shells. As Wedeman recounted in an interview with CNN host Wolf Blitzer, the shrapnel cracked the tires, damaged the windshield and side windows, and punctured the gas tank.

Goey recorded the exhaust at all times, so you can see when everyone knows the other car, which had also been hit but was running.

In dialogue with Blitzer, Wedeman recounted the minutes of tension in the outskirts of Mykolaiv: “We took shelter and then two other shells fell, one of them about ten meters from one of our cars. So we ran to the cars to try to get out of the area after the officer in charge of that position told us that we should leave because more shells could arrive. One of the two cars was completely destroyed.”

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, 2022, has claimed the lives of nine journalists. Six of the deceased list are Ukrainians, and three are foreigners.

The latest victim was Maks Levin, a Ukrainian photojournalist who had worked as a photographer and cameraman for several national and international media outlets. Levin, who had disappeared on March 13 near Kiev, was found lifeless on April 2 with two shots.

In recent days, Russian forces have intensified attacks on the city of Mykolaiv. There, a team of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) was the victim of a bombing attack on a cancer hospital.

In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on Tuesday that Russian troops destroyed a training center of the Ukrainian special operations forces.

The attack took place during the night in the port city of Ochakiv, in the Mykolaiv region, said the morning military spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Senkevych, reported the impact of several missiles: “Russian troops launched several missile attacks on our city very early this morning. We are collecting information.”

Despite the constant shelling, the adviser to the Ukrainian Presidency, Oleksei Arestovich, said that Russian troops have left Mykolaiv and plan to surrender to Kherson, both coastal towns near Crimea. While he warned that the Russian Army will not leave Kherson immediately, he noted that they are already preparing for a “surrender”.

“In Mykolaiv there are no enemies anymore, all fighting is already taking place in the Kherson area,” said Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky's adviser, according to Ukrainian agency UNIAN.

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