> i wouldn't hold it against the TV people who built this legend without waiting for full confirmation or denial - again you need to understand there they can get carried away and why.
I think it’s entirely reasonable to hold journalists to some standards that include “not making shit up and then reporting on it”.
I can be (and am) simultaneously sympathetic to their side but not to their journalistic actions in this case.
Sorry if this sound sharp, but let's discuss this after you spend some quality time performing journalistic or editorial duties while your country is being invaded in real time.
have some empathy, man. Imagine you're being bombed and then a Mig-29 of your AirForce comes and shoots down the attackers. And then bombing terror starts again and the Mig-29 comes and saves you again, and then the bombing terror starts again ... In such situation most people wouldn't be able to preserve any coherency to their thoughts and words at all, while those journalists still lead those war information TV marathons for hours.