Ukrainian reporter-turned-soldier killed on front lines
Artur Shybalov, former cameraman and editor at PTV UA channel, who joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces. was killed fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast on March 13.
His mother Tetiana Shybalova announced his death in a Facebook post on March 20.
"You had other plans for your life. You wanted to make movies and write books," Shybalova wrote. "You'd worked and studied for it. But you found it impossible to hide and not accept the challenge."
Shybalova added that her son is survived by his wife and children.
Shybalov's older brother Yevhen Shybalov, journalist, former soldier who returned from Russian captivity in 2022, wrote on his Facebook page that Artur was mobilized shortly after turning twenty-five.
"I have never admired and been so proud of my brother as I was during those sadly short months of his service in the airborne assault troops," he added. "He did not hesitate to put down the camera and take up arms. Any other behavior would have been undignified."
On his Facebook page, Shybalov wrote in 2024 that he dreamed of being a writer since childhood. He also posted a screenshot with "the first official refusal to publish" his text from a Ukrainian publishing house.
In his last post on Feb. 6, Shybalov published pictures of soldiers sitting against cement walls and wrote: "For everyone who is worried about me. Deep trenches and reliable cellars somehow protect (us)."
According to the Institute of Mass Information, Sybalov became the 101 person on the list of media workers killed by Russia.
Linda Hourani
