List of journalists killed during the Russo-Ukrainian War

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See also: List of journalists murdered in Ukraine

At least 12 civilian journalists or media workers have been killed in the Russo-Ukrainian War as of 24 March 2022. Six have been Russian, three Ukrainian, one Italian, one American, and one Irish.

An initial wave of journalist fatalities occurred in the early stages of the War in Donbas in 2014, starting with Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his interpreter, Russian activist Andrei Mironov. In the following four months, four Russian journalists in the company of Russian separatist forces were killed by Ukrainian fire. Two pairs of killings led to legal proceedings: In Rocchelli and Mironov's deaths, Ukrainian National Guard member Vitalii Markiv was tried in Italy for allegedly ordering the strike. He was convicted but later exonerated. In the deaths of Russian journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin by mortar strike, captured Ukrainian Army pilot Nadiya Savchenko was tried in Russia for allegedly ordering the strike. She was convicted and subsequently freed in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine. The relationship between Russian journalists and separatist forces became a subject of controversy.[1]

One Ukrainian journalist, Serhiy Nikolayev, was killed by a shell in an incident that both sides in the conflict blamed on each other.

A second wave of deaths began with the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Yevhenii Sakun, a Ukrainian, was the first journalist killed in that phase of the war, a victim of a Russian airstrike on the Kyiv TV Tower on 1 March 2022. Three other journalists were fatally shot in their cars by Russian soldiers, including American documentarian Brent Renaud; another was killed by Russian shelling.

In addition, at least five journalists have been killed while serving in the Armed Forces of Ukraine or the Russian separatist forces in Donbas.

Start of war in Donbas, 2014–2015 [edit]

The early stages of the War in Donbas saw the deaths of seven civilian journalists and media workers,[2] most of them Russians covering separatist fighters in the region.

Andrea Rocchelli and Andrei Mironov[edit]

caption
Andrei Mironov
Further information: Andrea Rocchelli § Death, and Andrei Mironov (activist) § Death

Italian photojournalist Andrea Rocchelli and Russian journalist and activist Andrei Mironov,[names 1] who was serving as Rocchelli's fixer and interpreter,[3][4] were killed on 24 May 2014 near the city of Slovyansk.[3] They, French reporter William Roguelon, and a local driver were fired upon on the way to their car. Roguelon stated that they were then targeted with 40 to 60 mortars.[5][6]

A man in a military uniform sits in an ornately-decorated room, smiling
Markiv shortly after his exoneration in Rocchelli and Mironov's deaths

In July 2019, an Italian court convicted Vitalii Markiv, an Italian-Ukrainian dual citizen and an officer in the National Guard of Ukraine, of directing the strike that killed Rocchelli and Mironov.[7] Markiv's conviction was overturned in November 2020,[8] a decision made final by the Supreme Court of Cassation in December 2021.[9]

Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin[edit]

Main article: Deaths of Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin

Igor Kornelyuk[names 2] and Anton Voloshin,[names 3] correspondent and sound engineer respectively for Russian state-owned broadcasting company VGTRK,[10][11] were struck by Ukrainian mortar shells on 17 June 2014 while filming a separatist roadblock[12] in Metalist, Slovianoserbsk Raion. Voloshin died instantly,[11] while Kornelyuk died later that day.[10]

A young woman with a crew cut frowns inside of a cage, her arms on her hips
Savchenko on trial in Moscow for Kornelyuk and Voloshin's deaths

Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian army helicopter pilot, was captured by separatists the same day and was accused of directing the mortar strike.[13] She claimed that she had rather been captured an hour before the attack.[14] Savchenko was convicted by a Russian court on 21 March 2016,[15] in what Amnesty International characterized as a "flawed, deeply politicized trial".[16] She was pardoned by Vladimir Putin as a result of a prisoner swap for two Russian soldiers two months later.[17]

Both men were posthumously awarded the Russian Order of Courage by Putin.[18]

Anatoly Klyan[edit]

Main article: Death of Anatoly Klyan

Anatoly Klyan,[names 4] a camera operator for Russian Channel One, was killed by Ukrainian soldiers while traveling with a group of protesting soldiers' mothers on 30 June 2014 in Donetsk region.[19][20] The trip had been organized by separatists and the driver was wearing camouflage.[19] Klyan continued to film the attack until he grew too weak.[19]

Andrey Stenin[edit]

Further information: Andrey Stenin § Disappearance and death

Andrey Stenin,[names 5] a Russian photojournalist and correspondent for several Russian and international news agencies, disappeared on 5 August 2014 while embedded with Russian-backed forces in Donetsk.[21] He was confirmed dead on 3 September 2014.[22]

Stenin died alongside Donetsk People's Republic militia Informaiton Corps members Sergei Korenchenkov and Andrei Vyachalo (see § Journalists killed while serving in the military). Their deaths were not announced until ten days after his. The Interpreter magazine, a publication of the Institute of Modern Russia, suggested that Russia was trying to obscure the connection between Stenin and militia members.[1] Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov insulted Stenin as a zampolit (military political indoctrinator) rather than a journalist.[1]

Stenin was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage by Vladimir Putin.[23]

Serhiy Nikolayev[edit]

Further information: Serhiy Nikolayev § Death

Serhiy Nikolayev,[names 6] a photojournalist with the Ukrainian newspaper Segodnya, died along with soldier Mykola "Tank" Flerko during the shelling of the village of Pisky on 28 February 2015.[26] Nikolayev was wearing a bulletproof vest marked "PRESS".[27] Both sides in the war blamed each other.[28]

Nikolayev had previously been attacked by the Berkut special police while reporting on the Euromaidan demonstrations in 2013.[27] After his death he was awarded the title Hero of Ukraine by Petro Poroshenko.[25]

Russian invasion of Ukraine, 2022[edit]

The further Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 has led to the deaths of five civilian journalists as of 23 March 2022, two of them Ukrainian and the other three international.[29]

Yevhenii Sakun[edit]

The strike on the Kyiv TV Tower
Further information: Kyiv TV Tower § 2022 missile strike

Yevhenii Sakun,[names 7] a photojournalist for Ukrainian TV channel LIVE and correspondent with EFE, was killed by an attack on the Kyiv TV Tower on 1 March 2022,[30][32] in what Reporters Without Borders described as a "precision strike" on the facility.[33]

Brent Renaud[edit]

caption
Brent Renaud
Further information: Brent Renaud § Death

Brent Renaud, a journalist for The New York Times and Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker, was shot dead by Russian soldiers while at a checkpoint in Irpin on 13 March 2022.[34][35] Renaud, who was known for his work depicting refugees and deportees, had been filming evacuating refugees,[36] according to his colleague Juan Arredondo.[37]

Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova [edit]

Pierre "Zak" Zakrzewski,[names 8] an Irish photojournalist for Fox News, and Oleksandra "Sasha" Kuvshynova,[names 9] a Ukrainian freelancer working with Fox, were killed on 14 March 2022 when their vehicle came under fire in Horenka, Kyiv Oblast.[40][41] British journalist Benjamin Hall, also of Fox, was wounded in the same attack.[42]

Zakrzewski, 55, had worked for Fox in the Iraq War, War in Afghanistan, and Syrian civil war,[43] and had received Fox's "Unsung Hero" employee award for his role in evacuating Afghan freelancers and their families after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.[44] Kuvshynova, 24,[43] had been guiding Fox crews and assisting with newsgathering.[45]

Oksana Baulina[edit]

Oksana Baulina

Oksana Baulina, a Russian journalist for the independent investigative website The Insider, was killed in the Podilskyi District of Kyiv on 23 March by Russian shelling. She had been filming the site of a Russian rocket strike on a shopping center. Another civilian was killed in the same attack.[46]

Baulina, an activist, had previously worked for Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation reporting on Russian government corruption,[46] and had been forced to flee Russia after the organization was branded extremist by the Russian government.[47] Before the invasion, she was based in Warsaw,[48] and during the invasion had reported from Kyiv and Lviv.[46]

Journalists killed while serving in the military [edit]

Three Ukrainians and two separatists have been killed while serving as military journalists or while serving as soldiers independent of their work as journalists. They have generally not been counted in lists of journalists killed in the war.[2]

Sergei Korenchenkov and Andrei Vyachalo[edit]

Sergei Korenchenkov and Andrei Vyachalo, correspondents with the Donetsk People's Republic militia's Information Corps, disappeared alongside Andrey Stenin on 5 August 2014 (see § Andrey Stenin). Ten days after Stenin's body was found, pro-Russian newspaper Golos Sevastopolya reported the remains of both Korenchenkov and Vyachalo's had been found at the same time as his body.[1] The two were among the first on the scene after militia forces shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and The Interpreter magazine speculated they may have known which rebels shot down the airliner.[1]

Oleh Zadoyanchuk[edit]

Oleh Zadoyanchuk, a soldier in the 12th Territorial Defence Battalion and journalist with state news agency Ukrinform, was killed by Russian artillery shelling on 4 September 2014.[49]

Dmytro Labutkin[edit]

Dmytro Labutkin,[names 10] a military journalist with the Sevastopol TV channel Briz prior to Russia's annexation of Crimea, died on 16 February 2015 during the Battle of Debaltseve.[50][51]

Viktor Dudar[edit]

Viktor Dudar,[names 11] the defense correspondent for the Lviv-based newspaper Expres and a volunteer paratrooper, was fatally shot by Russian soldiers while fighting in Mykolaiv. His death was announced on 7 March 2022.[52] He was not working as a journalist at the time;[31] he had re-enlisted in the military on 24 February, having previously served in Donbas from 2014 to 2015. He was among the first Ukrainian soldiers killed in the invasion.[53]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Russian: Андре́й Никола́евич Миро́нов, also transliterated Andrey
  2. ^ Russian: Игорь Владимирович Корнелюк
  3. ^ Russian: Антон Дмитриевич Волошин
  4. ^ Russian: Анатолий Сергеевич Клян
  5. ^ Russian: Андрей Алексеевич Стенин
  6. ^ Ukrainian: Сергій Владиславович Ніколаєв, first name also transliterated Sergii or Sergey, last name also transliterated Nikolaiev or Nikolaev[24][25]
  7. ^ Ukrainian: Євгеній Сакун,[30] also transliterated Evgeny Sakin[31]
  8. ^ /ˈzækʃɛvskiː/ ZAK-shev-skee[38]
  9. ^ Ukrainian: Олександра Кувшинова,[39] also transliterated Kuvshinova[38]
  10. ^ Ukrainian: Лабуткін Дмитро Віталійович
  11. ^ Ukrainian: Віктор Дудар[52]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e Fitzpatrick, Catherine A. (30 September 2014). "Andrei Stenin and His Fellow Travelers: How Russian State Media Help Fight the War Against Ukraine". The Interpreter. Institute of Modern Russia. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  2. ^ a b "8 Journalists and Media Workers Killed in Ukraine between 2014 and 2015". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Who killed Andrea Rocchelli?". Euronews. 25 July 2017. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  4. ^ Lally, Kathy; Englund, Will (30 May 2014). "Remembering Andrei Mironov, the interpreter who tried to save Russia". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. ^ Institute of Mass Information (1 October 2014). "Французький фотограф поранений під Слов'янськом - Інститут Масової Інформації" [French photographer wounded near Slavyansk - Institute of Mass Information]. Archived from the original on 1 October 2014.
  6. ^ Reporters Without Borders (26 May 2014). "Italian journalist and Russian fixer killed in eastern Ukraine". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  7. ^ Englund, Will (27 January 2020). "Who killed two journalists in Ukraine? And why?". The Washington Post. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Ukrainian Ex-Fighter Acquitted In 2014 Killing Of Italian Journalist Returns To Kyiv". Radio Free Europe. 4 November 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  9. ^ "Італійський суд остаточно виправдав нацгвардійця Марківа" [Italian court finally acquitted Markiv of the National Guard]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian and Russian). 9 December 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b Committee to Protect Journalists. "Igor Kornelyuk". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  11. ^ a b Committee to Protect Journalists. "Anton Voloshin". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  12. ^ "Russian reporter killed by mortar attack in eastern Ukraine". Reuters. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. ^ Gessen, Masha (10 March 2016). "Nadiya Savchenko Gives Russia the Finger". The New Yorker. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  14. ^ Dzhanpoladova, Natalia; Gostev, Aleksandr (17 December 2014). Алиби Надежды Савченко [Nadezhda Savchenko's alibi] (in Russian). Radio Liberty. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Ukrainian army ex-pilot found guilty of death of Russian journalists near Lugansk — court". Tass.ru. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
  16. ^ "Russia: Nadiya Savchenko must get a retrial after 'deeply politicized' guilty verdict". Amnesty International. 21 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
  17. ^ "Ukrainian Pilot, Nadiya Savchenko, Is Exchanged for 2 Russian Prisoners". The New York Times. 25 May 2016. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Executive Order on awarding the Order of Courage to VGTRK journalists Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk". Office of the President of Russia. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 19 March 2022.
  19. ^ a b c "Russian journalist killed in Ukraine as gunmen fire on media bus". The Guardian. The Associated Press. 30 June 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  20. ^ Culzac, Natasha (30 June 2014). "Anatoly Klyan death: Russian cameraman fatally shot in Ukraine 'by government forces'". The Independent. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  21. ^ Greenslade, Roy (11 August 2014). "Russian agency photographer goes missing in Ukraine". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  22. ^ Committee to Protect Journalists (3 September 2014). "Russian photojournalist Andrei Stenin killed in Ukraine". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  23. ^ "Andrei Stenin has been posthumously awarded the Order of Courage". Russian Presidential Executive Office. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  24. ^ "President appointed scholarships to the children of journalists Serhiy Nikolayev and Dmytro Labutkin fallen in Donbas". president.gov.ua. Archived from the original on 20 August 2015.
  25. ^ a b "Sergey Nikolaev, photographer of the newspaper "Today" was awarded the title of "national Hero of Ukraine (posthumously)". Slava Ukraine (in English, Ukrainian, and French).
  26. ^ "News photographer from Segodnya newspaper killed by shell in Pisky". Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  27. ^ a b Reporters Without Borders (28 February 2015). "Ukrainian photographer killed near Donetsk". Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  28. ^ "Ukraine's pro-Russia rebels claim to withdraw, Kyiv skeptical". Deutsche Welle. 1 March 2015. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  29. ^ "4 Journalists and Media Workers Killed in Ukraine in 2022". Committee to Protect Journalists. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  30. ^ a b Hainey, Fionnula (2 March 2022). "Cameraman one of five killed in Kyiv TV tower missile strike". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  31. ^ a b Marlowe, Lara (12 March 2022). "Death in Ukraine: 'It is better to be the widow of a hero than the wife of a coward'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
  32. ^ International Federation of Journalists (3 March 2022). "Ukraine: Cameraman Yevhenii Sakun killed in TV tower bombing". Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  33. ^ Reporters Without Borders (5 March 2022). "RSF refers Russian strikes on four Ukrainian TV towers to International Criminal Court". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  34. ^ Bowman, Verity (13 March 2022). "US journalist Brent Renaud 'killed in Ukraine'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  35. ^ "Acclaimed filmmaker Brent Renaud shot, killed in Ukraine". The Associated Press. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  36. ^ Traub, Alex (13 March 2022). "Brent Renaud, Crusading Filmmaker, Is Killed at 50". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  37. ^ "'They started shooting at us' - US journalist's colleague". BBC News. 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  38. ^ a b "Fox News mourns Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova". Fox News. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022 – via YouTube.
  39. ^ "Під Києвом вбили молоду українську журналістку" [A young Ukrainian journalist was killed near Kyiv] (in Ukrainian). 15 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  40. ^ "Two journalists killed in attack while reporting in Ukraine". ITV News. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  41. ^ "Taoiseach pays tribute to Irish citizen killed while reporting for Fox News near Kyiv". TheJournal.ie. 3 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  42. ^ "British journalist hospitalised in Ukraine while reporting for Fox News". ITV News. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  43. ^ a b "Fox News' Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshinova killed in Kyiv". BBC News. 15 March 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  44. ^ Wallace, Danielle; Norman, Greg (15 March 2022). "Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski killed in Ukraine". Fox News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  45. ^ Wulfsohn, Joseph (15 March 2022). "Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra 'Sasha' Kuvshinova assisting Fox News in Ukraine killed in attack". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  46. ^ a b c "Russia-Ukraine war latest news: Evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine, says US; concern for trapped Chernihiv residents – live". The Guardian. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  47. ^ "Live updates: Russian journalist killed by shelling in Kyiv". The News & Observer. The Associated Press. 23 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  48. ^ "'У нее хватало сил переживать за всех нас. И она люто ненавидела режим'" ["She had the strength to worry about all of us. And she fiercely hated the regime"]. Holod (in Russian). 24 March 2022. Retrieved 23 March 2022.
  49. ^ "Ukrinform journalist Oleh Zadoyanchuk killed in Donbas". Ukrinform. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  50. ^ Institute of Mass Information (22 March 2015). "Death of military journalist Dmytro Labutkin confirmed". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  51. ^ Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (23 March 2015). "Death confirmed of Ukrainian military journalist at Debaltseve". Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  52. ^ a b "На фронті загинув львівський журналіст" [Journalist from Lviv has died at war]. Ukrayinska Pravda (in Ukrainian, English, and Russian). 7 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  53. ^ Fadel, Leila (9 March 2022). "The first of Ukraine's fallen soldiers are starting to come home". National Public Radio. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
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