A Russian state newspaper, Izvestia, has reported that its freelance correspondent, Alexander Martemyanov, was killed in a drone strike near the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Moscow has accused Ukraine’s military of deliberately targeting Martemyanov, while Kyiv has yet to comment on the incident.
The attack reportedly hit a civilian vehicle carrying Martemyanov on a highway within a Russian-occupied zone. Four other journalists, including two from Ria and two from Bloknot Donetsk, were injured and treated in hospital following the strike. The vehicle had been returning from covering shelling in Horlivka when it was struck.
Martemyanov had been working for Izvestia since 2014 and was previously wounded in a Ukrainian attack in Donetsk last year but had returned to work after his recovery.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the strike, calling it a “deliberate murder” and accusing the Ukrainian government of “a series of bloody atrocities.”
The EU previously blocked Russian outlets, including Izvestia and Ria, in May, citing their role in spreading Russian propaganda related to the ongoing conflict. Before Martemyanov’s death, the International Federation of Journalists reported that at least 21 journalists had been killed in Ukraine since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.