Three Russian journalists were killed on Monday while reporting from the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine. This is the latest in a series of fatalities among Russian media workers since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022.
The Kremlin has criticized the international community’s response to the killing of Russian journalists in Ukraine. The lack of reaction, said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskow, is inexcusable. Many organizations have refused to react, he added.
The journalists killed in the attack on Monday were Alexander Fedortschak, a reporter for the Iswestija newspaper, Andrei Panow, a cameraman for Swesda TV and Alexander Sirekli, their driver. The vehicle, marked as a press transport, was hit by two rockets fired from a US-supplied Ukrainian HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system, according to reports.
In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the Ukrainian military of terrorism. The Russian ombudswoman for human rights, Tatjana Moskalkowa, said she would seek a condemnation of Kiev’s actions at international organizations. Peskow stated, “The shelling was targeted. They wanted to kill [the journalists] deliberately. The Kiev regime continues its atrocities against unarmed journalists. This is the essence of the Kiev regime.”
Earlier this year, another Iswestija journalist, Alexander Martemianow, was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, more than 30 Russian journalists have been killed in the conflict zone since 2022. The Russian Foreign Ministry has called on international organizations, including the UNESCO, OSCE and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, to react to Kiev’s “persistent efforts to kill Russian media workers cold-bloodedly.