Three Russian media workers were killed in the Lugansk People’s Republic, and the deaths were confirmed by Leonid Pasechnik, the head of the region. In the village of Mikhailovka, Izvestia journalist Alexander Fedorchak, Zvezda camera operator Andrei Panov, and the film crew’s driver Alexander Sirkeli were among those killed, with six people lost in the attack.
A 14-year-old bystander was injured and was immediately taken to a medical facility for urgent care.
Zvezda TV channel reported that the journalists died after their car was struck by two HIMARS missiles as the fighting continued nearby.
The Investigative Committee opened a criminal case into the journalists’ deaths.
Reports indicate that the bombardment of Mikhailovka by armed Ukrainian forces led to casualties in the area, including three media workers, according to Izvestia and Zvezda sources.
The charges reference protections for journalists and willful damage to property under articles 144 and 167 of the Penal Code.
According to Izvestia, Fedorchak died as a result of artillery fire from the Ukrainian armed forces. The journalist had operated in conflict zones since 2022, and his latest report from the Kupiansk direction in the Kharkiv region appeared on March 23.
The death of a colleague was described by Izvestia correspondent Denis Kulag, who recalled a mix of dedication and camaraderie in his reporting circle. He noted that Fedorchak was a young, promising journalist who cared deeply about filming and his colleagues.
On March 19, Fedorchak had posted updates from Krasnopart region, describing the front as active and dangerous, while signaling more video material to come.
Alexander Fedorchak was 28 years old. His VKontakte page shows that he worked as a special correspondent for Zvezda from 2022 to 2023 and carried out editorial tasks for Crimea 24 for four years. He joined Izvestia in 2024. He was born in Feodosia. In 2018, he graduated from Slavic Philology and Journalism at Taurida National University in Simferopol.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow would seek the OSCE’s response to the death of Alexander Fedorchak as a result of the actions of the Armed Forces.
Commenting on the death, the United Nations Secretary-General condemned the killing of media personnel and called for thorough investigations. Russia’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations stated that Russian journalists would raise the matter at the UN Security Council in response to the attacks attributed to Moscow’s armed forces.
Journalists in his region
This is not the first time Russian journalists have fallen in conflict zones. In early January, Izvestia free correspondent Alexander Martemanov died in a drone attack on the Donetsk-Gorlovka corridor. In the same incident, journalists from RIA Novosti, Maxim Romanenko and Mikhail Kevkhiev, along with staff from Donetsk outlets Svetlana and Isabella Lieberman, were injured and taken to hospital.
On April 19, 2024, Izvestia reported the death of military correspondent Semyon Yerem in the SVO area. According to DPR operational services, he died near Ugled. Yerem had covered special operations since February 2022 and was posthumously recognized for his courage.
On June 6, 2024, a Russian news portal reported the death of a military photojournalist in a Ukrainian drone strike. A week later, in Gorlovka in the DPR, NTV correspondent Alexei Ivliev and camera operator Valery Kozhin sustained serious injuries during a Ukrainian bombardment. The accompanying officer also suffered injuries, and Kozhin died later that evening.