Russian journalist dies after Ukrainian drone attack – media
Boris Maksudov, a Russian journalist from Russia 24 TV who was injured on Wednesday in a Ukrainian drone attack, has died in hospital, several news outlets reported on Thursday morning.
Maksudov was injured during a working trip to Zaporozhye Region, through which the front line of the Ukraine conflict passes. He was among a group of reporters who were targeted by a swarm of Ukrainian drones.
The Defense Ministry said at the time that the fragmentation injury he sustained was not deemed life-threatening. He had been evacuated to a military hospital, the statement added.
Russia 24 reported the crew was hit by two quadcopters, which targeted them with grenades. In a grim foreshadowing earlier in the day, Maksudov recorded a video in which he remarked that drones pose a threat in the area despite the poor weather conditions offering some degree of safety.
Dmitry Kiselyov, the head of the Rossiya Segodnya media group, suggested that Ukrainian forces deliberately attack journalists. Reacting to Maksudov’s reported death on Thursday, he told RIA Novosti: “Unfortunately, the journalistic profession today is increasingly colored in khaki, and too often covered with blood on top.”
Arguably, the first notable incident in which Ukrainian forces were accused of targeting media professionals occurred in 2014, when a volunteer fighter, Nadezhda Savchenko, directed artillery fire at a group of reporters. Two of them, Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin, were killed.
Savchenko was taken into Russian custody and tried, while Kiev turned her into an international celebrity, claiming to be a victim of persecution. She was sentenced to 22 years in jail in 2016, but was pardoned by President Vladimir Putin and returned to Ukraine, where she was later elected to parliament.
The conflict has claimed the lives of many Russian media professionals. In July, RIA Novosti war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed by shelling in Zaporozhye Region.
RT holds an annual international photography competition in honor of Andrey Stenin, a Russian photojournalist who was killed by Ukrainian small arms fire in Donetsk Region in 2014.
