Mariana Wishemirsky, a pregnant woman photographed fleeing a bombed maternity ward in Mariupol that became a symbol of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bloody war in Ukraine, said she was threatened with death after falsely assuming the picture.
The BBC interviewed Denis Seleznev, a blogger who supports pro-Russian separatists.
Speaking from the breakaway side of her native region of Donbass, where she eventually moved, a 29-year-old woman who worked as a beauty influencer described how her life changed overnight.
“We had a quiet and easy life,” Wisermirsky said. “And then, of course, everything turned upside down.”
She described the dramatic scene in the maternity ward after the May 9 bombing, with patients and staff in the basement for 15 minutes before being evacuated. He was one of the last to leave, the BBC podcast “War on Truth” told him. Because he was not as hurt as the others.
He was the victim of an online insult after a Russian campaign aimed at defaming his photos. A pro-Russian telegram channel started claiming that he used makeup to paint bruises. The allegations were later reported in the Russian media.
“It really hurts to hear that, because I’ve really been through it all,” he said.
However, he does not blame the Russians, but the Associated Press reporters who took the pictures, saying they were not talking to the victims of the attack and allowed the reader to create a “creation that seems to be all of it is staged “.
The AP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from HuffPost.
This is not the first time Russia has used such tactics to undermine the images and news confirming the reality of the war in Ukraine. According to Russian state TV channels, the photos and videos depicting the atrocities in Bucha were fake. Some media in Russia said that Ukraine had organized war crimes to gain the sympathy of the world.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister said more than 260 fighters had been evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Monday. The country continues to evacuate the remains and says it has “fulfilled its mission,” the AP reported.
Read the full BBC interview here And listen to the podcast here.
Source: Huffpost
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.