ABC's Ukraine correspondent Tom Joyner hits out at criticism of his Instagram massage posts - Daily Mail

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An ABC journalist who repeatedly posted to social media about getting a massage in war-torn Ukraine has hit back at critics who branded his Instagram stories 'tone deaf'.

War correspondent Tom Joyner took to his social media account on Monday to defend his decision to get the rub down in the city of Lviv last week.

Joyner went for a relaxation session as Russian forces pushed on with their invasion of the eastern European nation, launching missiles and firing weapons at Ukrainian troops last week - and while fellow ABC colleagues took over his reporting duties after 18 days on the road.

Joyner publicly fumed after The Australian newspaper published his posts on Monday and claimed some of his colleagues had found them 'tone deaf'.

'I spend one hour out of 18 long days working Ukraine/Poland getting a massage because my shoulders were sore from carrying a camera???'

An ABC journalist who boasted in a six series Instagram story about getting a massage in war-torn Ukraine has hit back at critics who called him 'tone deaf'


'Someone here sent The Australian (newspaper) my insta story about getting a massage??' Joyner wrote, before sarcastically adding about the journalist responsible: 'Nice story ... great story man.'

In his Instagram stories, Joyner said he had been looking for a masseuse to treat his shoulder pain from 'wielding a camera'. Joyner said he was advised by a local driver to visit a nearby physiotherapist.

'Turned out it wasn't a normal massage place,' he wrote

'It was a physio who did massages on the side. He was a total legend.'

One image from his six photo Instagram story series showed Joyner's massage bed set up inside a large cage.

'I had to lie down in this cage surrounded by all sorts of instruments while he pummelled my back for an hour.'

After the criticism this week, Joyner filed back: ''My ABC colleagues and I have been working hard to bring our audiences stories from Ukraine over the last month or so.

'My shoulders were sore from wielding a camera every day. So I took a single afternoon off during the 18 days I was in the area to do something to remedy that.'

Joyner had chosen to get the service as Russian forces pushed on with their invasion, launching missiles and firing weapons at Ukrainian troops last week


He then he recommended that The Australian reporter behind the story, Media Diarist Nick Tabakoff, get a massage.

'I was in Poland this morning when Nick Tabakoff rang me at 5.21am to ask if I'd like to respond to people in 'the newsroom' who thought my massage posts were 'tone deaf',' he wrote.

'All I'll add now is it sounds like Nick needs a massage too. I recommend it!'

Daily Mail Australia contacted Joyner for comment.

Ukrainian servicemen coordinate the evacuation of civilians on March 6, 2022 near Irpin, Ukraine

The burnt out remains of a building destroyed by Russian army shelling in the second largest Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, in the east of the country on March 6, 2022. Kharkiv is one of the cities worst-hit by Russian bombing campaigns in recent days, after Putin ordered his forces to engage in sustained shelling of several locations across the country