BBC journalist Clive Myrie has reflected on the time he spent reporting on the conflict in Ukraine, describing the “rumour and dread” that currently consumes its capital.
After spending two weeks reporting from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Clive, 57, is returning to London, having travelled to Romania after leaving Ukraine via Moldova.
Writing for the BBC, Clive, who studied Law at the University of Sussex, recalled the palpable fear among those sheltering in make-shift bomb shelters in Kyiv.
A quick thank you for all your good wishes over the last 2 weeks, you’ve all been very kind to me and the BBC teams in Ukraine. I’m now heading back to London, but will return. #UkraineRussianWar #ukraine
— Clive Myrie (@CliveMyrieBBC) March 8, 2022
He said: “You could see the nervousness on the faces of the soldiers and partisans manning checkpoints, despite the black balaclavas shielding them from the cold. Their eyes told stories of apprehension, concern, worry and existential threat.”
Clive himself was staying in a basement car park in the centre of Kyiv which had become a make-shift bomb shelter.
Reflecting on the constant threat of attack from Russian forces, he wrote:“The city was awash with rumour and dread.
My thoughts are with the 1million who’ve fled #Ukraine because they might be killed. The millions who fled #syria and many other millions escaping repression,poverty, war. They all pray they’ll be welcomed in other countries as human beings. That’s all they ask 2/2 #refugees pic.twitter.com/cV4bpO9zt0
— Clive Myrie (@CliveMyrieBBC) March 6, 2022
"Who might that be in the bomb shelter next to you, who is listening in to your conversation in the bread queue? Best stay indoors and observe the curfew.”
“Villages, towns and cities across the land saw a vanishing, as citizens descended underground to subterranean worlds of refuge.”
Clive specifically recalled a woman he had seen feeding birdseed to pigeons after the lifting of a weekend-long curfew.
He wrote: “I can’t get the image of the woman feeding the pigeons out of my head. She was risking bombs and missiles to feed the pigeons.
“For me, she represents strength and courage – the indomitability of an independent state, not the cowering fear of the colonised.”
In a tweet, Clive later thanked members of the public for the support he received during the time he spent in Ukraine.
In a heartfelt message on social media, written as he left Kyiv, Clive expressed sympathy with families trying to leave the country.
He said: “My thoughts are with the 1million who’ve fled Ukraine because they might be killed.
“The millions who fled Syria and many other millions escaping repression, poverty, war.
“They all pray they’ll be welcomed in other countries as human beings. That’s all they ask”.
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