War: Wahl-Salzburg Wehrschütz continues to report
politics
Christian Wehrschütz, who lives in Salzburg and was born in Styria, reports daily for ORF from the war zones in Ukraine. In Kyiv, too, the situation is now becoming more and more dangerous. The civil defense warns of attacks by Russian soldiers. Wehrschütz decided Tuesday to continue reporting from the Ukrainian capital.
“That was the journalistic one today
hardest decision of my life.
I share them with my team
and met my family.
The team said we want to stay.
And my wife said
she accepts that.”
Cyber attack disrupts TV connection
We were not able to establish a live TV connection with an image to our ORF correspondent on Tuesday. The reason may be a cyber attack related to the war. The situation of the people in Kyiv is dramatic, especially since a major attack by the Russian army is likely to be imminent, says Wehrschütz: “We have just filmed a convoy with children outside. An attempt was made to drive out in private cars and leave the city. We also found a gas station. We still need petrol and gas. Individual gas stations still have that.”
2014: Hit two meters away
On the very first day of the Russian attack, the ORF reporter found out what this war means for the civilian population. His wife, two daughters and five-year-old grandson take care of themselves. Elisabeth Wehrschütz emphasizes that her husband was caught in the middle of a war in 2014: “Shots were then fired in the hotel where he was at the time. If he had stood two meters somewhere else, I wouldn’t have a man today.”
War of 2001: “My children’s teachers were bad”
Wehrschütz says it was a big burden for his wife: “That was also a big issue in the Macedonian war of 2001. The worst thing at school back then was the teachers for my children. They said, aren’t you afraid for your dad? There were days when my children didn’t want to go to school anymore.”
Wehrschütz studied law and speaks a number of Slavic languages – including Ukrainian, which he also studied at the elite university in Harvard (USA).
He will and should report as neutrally as possible
Despite all the drama of conflicts, as a reporter you always have to remain neutral, is Christian Wehrschutz’s professional credo: “Anyone who becomes partial when faced with misery will always be partial. These are not my wars, not my conflicts. The viewer should be able to see that. He should be able to say that I understand the situation better now that I have seen this report.”