Ukrainian shelling kills RIA Novosti correspondent, injures 4 others

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
22 Jul 2023 14:49

Rostislav Zhuravlev was working as a war correspondent for RIA Novosti with a team of journalists traveling when the group came under an Ukrainian strike with cluster munitions.

RIA Novosti war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev (Twitter/RT)

Rostislav Zhuravlev, who was working as a war correspondent for RIA Novosti, was killed in a Ukrainian shelling near Pyatykhatky in a combat zone.

Konstantin Mikhalchevsky, a photojournalist from RIA Novosti, was also injured during the same incident. The shelling occurred near the village of Pyatykhatky, where a group of journalists came under fire. It's important to note that RIA Novosti is a part of the Rossiya Segodnya international media group.

In further detail, Izvestia correspondent Roman Polshakov and TV channel's cameraman Dmitry Shikov sustained shrapnel wounds and fractures due to the Ukrainian attack. Both of them were seriously wounded but are now receiving proper medical treatment, as reported by Izvestia.

On its account, the Russian Defense Ministry affirmed that Ukrainian forces launched an artillery strike with cluster munitions targeting a group of journalists from RIA Novosti and Izvestia news agencies. The journalists were investigating the Ukrainian army's use of cluster munitions in the Zaporozhye region when they were shelled with cluster munition. The attack resulted in injuries to four journalists, each with varying degrees of severity due to the Ukrainian strike with cluster munitions.

Confirming the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine, White House National Security Council Spokesperson, John Kirby, acknowledged that these munitions had been deployed in the field. Kirby also asserted that the Ukrainians had used the cluster munitions in a manner that was deemed appropriate and effective.

Kiev tried to assassinate number of Russian journalists, FSB says

The killing of Zhuravlev comes a few days as Moscow revealed that Ukraine has tried to make attempts on the lives of numerous Russian journalists, including a top RT journalist.

According to the FSB, the journalists that Kiev tried to assassinate are Margarita Simonyan and Ksenia Sobchak.

Commenting on the ordeal, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Simonyan and Sobchak were targeted because of their professional activities, stressing that Ukraine's actions were yet another attempted terrorist attack against Russian citizens.

Earlier last August, one of the journalists on the list, Daria Dugina, was murdered in a bomb blast outside Moscow in her car. In response, Russia accused a Ukrainian security service agent as the perpetrator.

Military correspondent Vladlen Tatarsky, whose name is also on the list, was killed in an explosion in a cafe in St. Petersburg. The girl who delivered the bomb said that she was fulfilling a job by Ukrainian officials and was promised that if she completed it successfully, she would be hired by a Ukrainian media outlet.

After Tatarsky's death, the word "eliminated" appeared on the "Peacemaker" website.

The list covers hundreds of journalists, politicians, and public figures from all over the world. Among them are Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard, NBC News American journalist Keir Simmons, Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters, and hundreds of others.