A Russian war correspondent working for RIA news agency lost his life, and three other Russian journalists were injured by artillery fire in the vicinity of the battlefront in Ukraine’s southeast Zaporizhzhia region, as stated by Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
According to the Ministry, the reporters were hit by an artillery assault from Ukraine. Although they were pulled out from the combat zone, RIA’s reporter Rostislav Zhuravlev passed away during transportation. The Ministry also reported the wounded journalists are in a severe yet stable condition, with no life-threatening injuries, receiving necessary medical attention.
RIA has also acknowledged in its own report that their reporter was killed during reporting in the front line village of Piatykhatky and a cameraman from the agency was also among the injured. The Russian Ministry claimed that Ukraine had employed cluster bombs in the event but failed to provide substantiating evidence, and Reuters couldn’t independently verify this claim.
It is known that Ukraine received cluster bombs from the United States earlier this month, promising their use only to target large groups of enemy soldiers. Such munitions, which scatter numerous small explosives over a broad area, are banned in many countries due to the potential risk they pose to non-combatants. Ukraine has constantly asserted their use will be restricted to the battlefield.
The United Nations, however, has accused Russia of frequent use of cluster munitions throughout the ongoing conflict.
