Sky News correspondent Stuart Ramsay wounded and cameraman shot in violent ambush in Russia's war in Ukraine.

by Thinus Ferreira

The Sky News (DStv 402) chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay was wounded and the cameraman Richie Mockler shot twice during a violent ambush by Russian soldiers near Kyiv in Russia's ongoing invasion and war in Ukraine.

Sky News published the shocking and harrowing account of Stuart Ramsay and the TV news crew online, saying that the "experience illustrates the scale of the mayhem and violence as Russia's invasion enters a new and deadlier phase".

Writing in his first-hand account, Stuart Ramsay says "we were being ambushed by a saboteur Russian reconnaissance squad".

"It was professional, the rounds kept smashing into the car - they didn't miss."

"Producer Martin Vowles, who was driving, got out of the car first, quickly followed by Andrii Lytvynenko, our local producer, leaving me, Richie, and my producer Dominique Van Heerden inside, taking cover in the footwells and across the backseat."

"We knew we had to get out to survive, but the incoming fire was intense."

"Dominique pushed open her door a little further and slipped to the ground, crawling towards a motorway barrier and then dived down a 40-foot embankment, rolling to the bottom."

"Richie was shouting to me, but I can't really remember much.

I do recall wondering if my death was going to be painful," Stuart Ramsay wrote.

"Then I was hit in the lower back. "I've been hit!" I shouted. But what amazed me was that it didn't hurt that bad. It was more like being punched, really."

"It was strange, but I felt very calm. I managed to put my helmet on, and was about to attempt my escape, when I stopped and reached back into a shelf in the door and retrieved my phones and my press card, unbelievably."

"Richie says I then got out of the car and stood up, before jogging to the edge of the embankment and then started running. I lost my balance and fell to the bottom, landing like a sack of potatoes, cutting my face. My armour and helmet almost certainly saved me."

"But Richie was still inside the car. The rounds were ploughing into the car every time he moved. He was actually being protected by the engine block - he knew that."

"He called out, and we shouted at him to come. But then silence. It seemed like an eternity before he emerged over the barrier and jumped down towards us, followed by a hail of gunfire."

"At the bottom, we regrouped. The five of us were alive. We couldn't believe it. We were in shock, no doubt about it. But elated to be alive. Martin said to me, it's a miracle any of us got out, let alone all five of us."

"Still in the firing line, we headed away from the car, using a concrete wall for cover."

You can read the rest and full version of Stuart Ramsay's story on the Sky News website.