On 23 January 2024, Ukrainian journalist Anna Myasnikova was wounded in a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv, multiple Ukrainian media outlets reported. Myasnikova, who works for local online news outlet Nakypilo, was returning home when a Russian missile struck a building near her in the city center, following which she began reporting from the area by sending an audio message to her colleagues. She was then wounded in a second strike which took place moments later, Nakypilo reported. As a result, Myasnikova broke her shin, sustaining a wound from flying debris. She was taken to a local hospital, where she was operated and her leg was plastered.
“The explosion happened a few dozen meters from me,” the journalist explained to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), a Ukrainian press freedom group. “I didn’t have time to get scared, and I didn’t immediately understand what was wrong with my leg. I only felt pain. I think it helped that I had previously taken first aid courses and quickly figured out what to do, [that I needed] to get out of the epicenter of the explosion first. And I did the right thing, because then there was a second explosion”.
She added: “You have to constantly check what you’re carrying with you, although I’m still grateful that I had at least bandages with me. I rolled one out around my leg, but I couldn’t attach it, [so] I held [the bandage] with my hands despite the pain. There was almost no connection in the basement of the house [I went to for shelter], I barely made it to call an ambulance and give the address. I couldn’t get through to anyone, but I managed to call my colleague, who was [physically] closest to me, and we maintained contact.”
According to multiple media reports, there was no military infrastructure in the part of central Kharkiv targeted in the attack by Russian forces, in which Myasnikova was injured. Five civilians in total were killed and 46 wounded as a result of Russian missile attacks on Kharkiv on January 23, local authorities reported.