Russia’s state-run newspaper Izvestia says one of its freelance reporters has been killed in a drone strike near the Russian-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow has accused the Ukrainian military of deliberately targeting Alexander Martymyanov. Ukraine did not comment.
Azvestia said a civilian vehicle carrying Martimyanov was hit as it traveled on a highway in Russian-held territory.
Five other media workers were reportedly injured in the same attack.
“Ukrainian military drones drone attack on civilian car carrying Izvestia freelance correspondent Alexander Martymyanov”.
“The car was located too far from the contact line.”
Russia’s state news agency RIA said the vehicle was returning from shelling in the Russian-held city of Gorlivka when it was hit.
The agency added that two RIA journalists were injured in the attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the incident a ‘deliberate murder’.
In a statement, he called it “another barbaric crime in a series of bloody atrocities” committed by the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The EU blocked Russian outlets in May – including Izvestia and RIA – accusing them of “spreading and supporting Russian propaganda and a war of aggression against Ukraine”.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 15 journalists have been killed since Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.