On the line of contact with Stefania Battistini

EF interview: Stefania Battistini in Ukraine

Stefania Battistini is a war reporter, a special envoy for the state broadcaster RAI News One, with previous experience on the ground in Kurdistan and Syria, after earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and Covid that ravaged Lombardy in Italy—now in Ukraine on the line of contact.

Stefania has been awarded many times in Italy and abroad, including most recently in Ukraine with the prestigious Ukraine’s Order of Princess Olga from President Zelensky—the same Order which was awarded to Nancy Pelosi. There’s a reason for these recognitions.

We often get caught up in the geopolitical games and information war that is raging across all sorts of platforms but in the end, on the ground where Stefania works, there are real people dealing with this war: a people’s war, resisting Russian aggression and violence, and defending themselves, their nation, their homes, their lives.

Stefania has been telling this story from Ukraine on the line of contact, documenting Ukrainian resistance since before Russia’s full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. She travelled to many settlements and towns in Donbas, as well as Bucha, Irpin, and Kherson to name just a few. She was given the permission to interview Russian POWs in Ukraine.

Scott and I talked to Stefania about her experiences, observations and comments on Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, how Ukrainians are resisting, and what she has learned.