Andriy Tsaplienko

Biography

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Married, has two sons and a daughter. Speaks Russian, English and Polish.

Education

Career

Andriy Tsaplienko is a well-known Ukrainian journalist, presenter and scriptwriter. He was the first and sometimes only Ukrainian journalist in many conflicts and hot spots. He has reported extensively and authoritatively on many of world's major news stories over recent years. Started his career in television in 1989 from a position of a lightmaster in his hometown television. Then after he worked as a regional reporter for TV channel "Orion".

In 1997 moved to Kiev and next year he had joined TV channel "Inter". Since 1999 he has released several weekly projects "N-kilometer", "In the firing line", "Special correspondent".

In 2001 he had filed exclusive reports for TV channel Inter from Afghanistan covering stories on different sides of the conflict including Taleban fighters and Northern Alliance factions. As a war correspondent he covered many conflicts including wars in Macedonia, Iraq, Côte d'Ivoire, Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Ossetia, Kashmir, Liberia, Burundi, Colombia.

Since 2007 Andriy Tsaplienko has released several documentaries for TV channel "Inter" as a scriptwriter: "Organs for export", "Euroslaves", "Dr. Heim. Human experimentation", "A true story of Major Whirlwind", "Dope. Champions' factory" and others.

In 2012 Andriy Tsaplienko's film "Betrayed city" was nominated to Taras Shevchenko National Award.

7 March 2014, during Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Crimea, Andriy Tsaplienko was captured and tortured by armed pro-Russian activists after filming the siege and assault of Ukrainian military base 2355 by Russian troops in Sevastopol. Mr.Tsaplienko was pursued allegedly by separatists' riot police officers who used their weapons during the pursuit. The next day, a list of injured journalists was mentioned in the statement of M-me Dunja Mijatović, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media: "A number of journalists have been threatened, assaulted, physically attacked and several members of the media have been severely injured while covering the events in Crimea. They include Argumenti nedeli-Krym (Stanislav Yurchenko), Associated Press Television News, BBC, CNN, Inter channel (Olena Mekhanik, Andrii Tsaplienko and two operators), Russkaya Planeta (Pavel Nikulin), STB (Oleksii Simakov, Oleksandr Albinskyi, Vyacheslav Skvorchevskyi, Igor Levenok), 5 channel (Anton Laktionov) and a number of freelancers, including Boryana Katsarova and Dimiter Kenarov. Journalists have also had their equipment confiscated by unidentified assailants."

Later on this attack was depicted in the novel "Crimea is ours": (Novels "The book of changes", "Bookclub Publishers", 2015): "His ribs broke after the first kick. A sharp pain pierced his right side, and he abruptly felt a terrible lack of air inside his lungs. He wheezed as he swallowed what remained of the air. “Stop wheezing!” the giant of a man who had broken his ribs uttered lazily and irritably in Russian. ‘So it seems asphalt can sometimes be warm in spring,’ he made a discovery, his eyes staring at the rough surface of the Sevastopol–Yalta highway. But he was mistaken, of course. It was the blood which was warm, as it flowed onto the road from the narrow cut above his eyebrow. The fellow who was beating him wore shoes with a steel plate in the soles. ‘When such shoes drive into your stomach, you’re a gonner,’ he recalled a phrase from some documentary about mercenaries in Africa, who loved wearing such shoes. He had watched the film as a teenager and the thought hadn’t even entered his head that one day, many years later, life would prove to him how genuine the film was".

From August 24, 2014, Mr.Tsaplienko works for the Ukrainian channels "1+1" and "Ukraine Today" covering the frontline events during The War in Donbass and also takes part in volunteers' activity supporting Ukrainian soldiers. In September 2014 he published his second novel "The Empire of the four sides".

Awards

1. Order "For a courage" (2001)
2. Medal "20 years of troops' withdrawal from Afghanistan" (2009)
3. I.Franko State Award (2004)
4. "Best screenplay" Award in XIII Bar International TV festival (Montenegro) for the film "Dope. Champions' factory" (2008)
5. "TV triumph" annual National Award (2006), nomination "Journalist, reporter"
6. "TV triumph" annual National Award (2003), nomination "Journalist, reporter"
7. "TV triumph" annual National Award (2002), nomination "Journalist, reporter"
8. "TV triumph" annual National Award (2001), nomination "Journalist, reporter".
9. "Man of the Year" annual National Award (2001), nomination "Journalist"

Publications

Co-author of "Macedonia: The Conflict and The Media", October 2003, Skopje, Macedonia, chapter "War and peace?". Publications in "Ost in West" monthly: "Leben in der heissen Zone", 1999, and "Geliebte Holle", 1999.

Quotes