The short answer is: because we are journalists, and this is what journalists do – they go where the story is.

This might be obvious to many of our readers, but we felt the need to write this editorial because many others simply do not get it.

Over the past few weeks, several couch commandos and keyboard warriors have criticised our team who went to report on the war in Ukraine twice, spending just under four weeks in total in the war-torn country.

These comments escalated this week when The Malta Independent and GO announced that the documentary we produced together to raise funds for Ukrainian refugees is now available to watch.

There is an online ‘battle’ raging between those who feel that we reported unfairly on the conflict ‘because the Ukrainians deserve to be invaded for being Nazis’, and others who took issue with the title of our documentary – ‘The people’s war.’

Others have advised us to leave this kind of job for foreign journalists and that we should stay safe at home, and that our readers can watch the news on CNN.

Some said we went there for the thrill, or to satisfy some ego trip.

Others keep denying that atrocities took place or insist that these civilian killings were actually carried out by the Ukrainian forces.

What we have done is report what we saw on the ground, particularly on how this was has affected normal people and disrupted their lives, plans and future.

We never went into the political side of the conflict. We went there to get a better understanding of the war and how it affects families in their day to day lives. We did this in order to be in a better position to convey what is happening there to our readers.

We could have stayed in Malta and relied on the newswire services we subscribe to. But we are journalists and this is what we do – we go where the story is, even if we put our lives in danger in the process. The risk is part of the job.

We were not expected to be shelled by Russian forces while travelling in a civilian car documenting the work that volunteers are doing in Kharkiv. It just happened. We did not go for the thrill, and we certainly do not have some death wish. We wanted to show the courage that these people have, the risks they take on a daily basis to deliver medicine and food to people marooned in tiny villages close to the front line.

We will always find someone to criticise us. We are used to it, and we are not offended. But we felt the need to explain why we went there, out of a sense of duty and commitment towards our job as journalists. 

We also feel a special connection to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, who welcomed us with open arms and appreciated our efforts to report on their struggle for freedom.

This is why we have produced a non-profit documentary to raise funds for refugees living under the care of the Salesians.

We would urge these keyboard warriors who spend so much time on pointless arguments on social media to do something more productive and donate money for this important cause.