KYIV: A Russian drone attack killed a French photojournalist on Friday in eastern Ukraine on the frontline of the three-and-a-half-year-old war with Russia.
The Ukrainian military’s Fourth Separate Mechanised Brigade announced on Facebook that photojournalist Antoni Lallican died in the drone strike.
A Ukrainian photographer named Hryhory Ivanchenko who was accompanying Lallican sustained injuries in the same incident.
Both journalists were wearing protective equipment and armoured vests that clearly identified them as members of the press.
Ukrainian Union of Journalists head Serhiy Tomilenko confirmed Lallican was killed near the town of Druzhkivka in the Donbas region.
Druzhkivka represents one of the most intense combat zones along the 1,250-kilometre front line in eastern Ukraine.
The European Federation of Journalists noted this marks the first journalist death by drone in the ongoing conflict.
Seventeen journalists have now been killed in the combat zone since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in February 2022.
Lallican was based in Paris and was working on assignment for France’s Hans Lucas photo agency at the time of his death.
His photographic work had been published in various European media outlets throughout his career.
French media reported that Lallican had previously worked as a photojournalist in the Middle East before covering the war in Ukraine.
Tomilenko accused the Russian army of deliberately targeting journalists who document war crimes.
He emphasised that every trip to the frontline carries deadly risks for journalists covering the conflict.
Lallican repeatedly took these risks by travelling to Ukraine and documenting events in the Donbas region.
French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences to Lallican’s family and fellow journalists in a post on social media platform X.
Macron acknowledged the dangers journalists face while carrying out their assignments in conflict zones. – Reuters