Three employees from Russian state-affiliated media were killed in occupied Luhansk Oblast while on assignment, several news outlets reported on March 24. The victims included Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak, as well as Zvezda TV cameraman Andrei Panov and driver Alexander Sirkeli.
Izvestia announced that Fedorchak died while reporting from the front lines. The journalist often covered Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts as well as Russia's Kursk region. "His last report was broadcast literally the day before," the newspaper said.
In January, Izvestia newspaper reported that a Ukrainian "kamikaze" drone attack killed one of its freelance reporters, Alexander Martemyanov, while he was traveling on a highway in occupied eastern Ukraine.
Originally a Soviet state newspaper, Izvestia is now owned by the National Media Group (NMG), a media conglomerate with significant state-controlled ownership and close ties to the Kremlin.
Meanwhile, Zvezda, a channel linked to Russia’s Defense Ministry, said two of its crew members were killed when their vehicle was struck.
Russia’s Investigative Committee launched an investigation into the incident, saying that the journalists were killed in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast. Leonid Pasechnik, Moscow-installed leader in Luhansk, claimed the attack occurred in the Kreminna district, also killing three civilians.
The incident occurred as Ukraine and Russia held talks with the United States regarding a possible partial ceasefire. Russia has intensified its assaults on Ukraine’s civilian areas over the past weeks.
Martin Fornusek
(Updated: )
