Clarissa Ward, CNN chief international correspondent, walks past Clarissa Ward, a toddler wearing pale pink overalls in a subway station in Kharkiv. She passes a family with their dog, huddled together. A young couple are entwined in each other’s arms nearby on the ground. An elderly man guides a young child down the choked path.
Ward is accompanied by a woman who tells Ward about the time she woke up to the sound explosions. “It cannot be true,” the woman says, crying.
On Thursday, the Russians attacked Ukraine, declaring what could be the largest war in Europe since World War II. For Americans, reporters like Ward serve as an indispensable resource—communicating each news event but also mirroring the real human toll of the ongoing attack. Ward has captured some of Ukraine’s most tragic consequences in the hours since the invasion began. According to her Instagram Story she is accompanied by Brent Swails (CNN field producer), Scott McWhinnie (CNN cameraperson) and Marcus Yam (photojournalist). Ward’s calm focus in the face of terror—pink scarf wrapped around her neck, her reporting seemingly unfazed by nearby explosions—is mesmerizing.
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Ward reported early Thursday morning that a small group Ukrainians were praying on a Kharkiv stone ground despite the freezing temperatures. She witnessed the moment in a very painful and poignant way. said, “speaks to the state of ordinary Ukrainians here, who have done absolutely nothing to deserve this, who have no quarrel with Russia, who have no desire for war or conflict.” These same people, she said, will be the ones to suffer from the “multipronged major attack by one of the world’s most sophisticated militaries on a sovereign, independent nation.” The image of half a dozen Ukrainians praying on their knees as Russian forces advance into the country—narrated by Ward but captured by an unnamed CNN camera person—is already impossible to forget.
Ward has been a reporter on international issues for more than 15 year. Even in the midst of active war, Ward has received comments about her gender. Ward’s reporting in Ukraine deserves praise. Atlantic writer Tom Nichols notedA CNN anchor asked Ward, her mother, how she felt about the violence in an interview. “You don’t often see male reporters asked their feelings ‘as a father’ about military action,” Nichols noted, accurately.
Source: Glamour