Why This Irish Journalist Never Left Ukraine

Описание: He came for a few days — and never left. Irish journalist Caolan Robertson initially planned a short trip to Ukraine after the full-scale invasion began. But he stayed. He quit his job in London and first settled in Odesa.

In this interview, we talk about the first shock of Kyiv — a city that shattered his idea of a “post-Soviet country.” About Kherson, where he was chased by a drone, and the video that was seen around the world. About the stereotypes many in Europe still believe — and about a Ukraine that keeps going, even under constant attacks.

And also — something deeply personal: love, marriage in Kyiv, and the feeling of home he found here.

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Timestamps:

00:00 – Trailer
00:49 – How an Irish journalist ended up in Ukraine
01:52 – “They wouldn’t let me into Kyiv”
04:57 – What surprised him most about Ukraine
08:44 – Why he couldn’t return to normal life after Ukraine
19:54 – Quitting his media job, moving to Odesa, and starting a YouTube channel
11:17 – Working under fire in Kherson alone: “A drone started chasing me”
14:50 – Getting access to work with the Ukrainian military
16:51 – What he loves most about everyday life in Kyiv
19:15 – Meeting his partner in Kyiv
20:08 – Whether same-sex marriage is legally recognized in Ukraine
20:52 – Attitudes toward LGBTQ+ people in Ukraine
22:07 – Stereotypes about Ukraine that turned out to be false
25:46 – How to explain that Ukrainians live fully despite the war
27:54 – Filming from a rooftop apartment during attacks on Kyiv
29:53 – How he managed to interview President Zelenskyy
33:00 – Whether the interview was censored
34:44 – Being accused of “pro-Ukrainian bias”
36:54 – Financial independence in journalism
39:10 – “Paid” foreign journalists in Russia
40:11 – Which countries donate the most to his work
41:14 – The most common question foreigners ask about Ukraine
43:50 – Explaining why Russian is still widely spoken in Ukraine
45:45 – Ukrainian refugees in Ireland
47:09 – Ukrainian men of conscription age abroad
48:50 – Plans for the next few years
50:14 – Whether he would ever go to Russia and how he ended up on an Interpol list
51:09 – How he got to Kursk and what he saw there
54:53 – The story he most wants to film next