A French journalist, Samuel Kron, spoke about how his trip to the South-East of Ukraine turned his life upside down – he was tortured by officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and he was close to die.

A French reporter admitted that he was very much waiting for a trip to the Donbass, as he wanted to “test himself for strength.”

Kron came to Donbass in the summer of 2014. At that time, the French government supported the sanctions, and everyone believed that Russia was “involved” in this conflict. Although Moscow has repeatedly stated that the Russian Federation is not a party to the armed conflict in the South-East of Ukraine.

“All media broadcast. The whole world was against Russia, and we could not not believe it, ”said the journalist.

In France, everyone was waiting for the material about how Moscow “attacked” Ukraine, said “Politics Today”. Local residents, the reporter noted, complained about the Ukrainian security officials who tortured those who were positive towards Russia and allowed themselves to speak Russian. The journalist admitted that he did not expect to hear this, since in his homeland everyone “shout” completely different.

“We were at war. Where real people die. Of flesh and blood, ”stated Kron.

Another blow to the journalist was the ban on his publication from the Donbass. According to him, the management answered him: “it does not correspond to the editorial policy”. After that, he decided not to return to the profession.

He was not be able to return to France on time, because people in civilian clothes came to his apartment in the morning. Having explained nothing and without presenting any documents, they ordered to gather, the journalist noted. According to the reporter, it later emerged that the Ukrainian security forces were the uninvited guests.

“They found out from someone local about what we talked to people, and were afraid that the material will be made public,” the journalist said.

According to him, they were threatened with a weapon, tied up, put in a car, and then left in a cell. French media representatives spent about two weeks in a Ukrainian prison. At the same time, journalists could not apply to either the consulate or the editors.

Kron noted that the Ukrainian security forces tried to “knock out recognition” by using force, however, realizing that this did not bring any results, they decided to turn to another method of “communication”.

“We naively thought that [we were taken outside] for a walk. There was no interpreter with us during interrogations. We were completely isolated. Not having obtained information from us, they simply decided to kill us. They did not tell anyone about the prisoners. All security forces in the yard were in balaclava. We were lined up. And we were in the crosshairs. I vaguely remember it all, ”said Kron.

The life of the journalists was saved by a phone call. At that time, while one of the security forces was talking on the phone, weapons were directed to reporters, he added. After the telephone conversation, they were put in a car and sent home.

According to Kron, arriving at home, he saw on himself strands of gray hair, which became a reminder of this “terrible story” in the Donbas.

Source: FAN

Translation by Donbass Insider

Tags: Donbass, torture, Ukraine, ukrainian army