Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
About 100 people gathered in a church in Kyiv In honor of the two Ukrainian journalists killed when a Russian drone attacked their car in eastern Ukraine on Monday Donetsk Area.
War correspondent Olena Lyubanova, 43, who worked under the pseudonym Alyona Gramova, and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin both died on Thursday 23 October when a Russian Lancet drone hit their vehicle in Kramatorsk, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the front line.
It was the latest deadly attack on journalists covering the war in Ukraine. Earlier this month, a French Photojournalist, Antoni Lalikan, and a Ukrainian reporter, Grigory Ivanchenko, were injured in similar attacks. One of Ivanchenko’s legs was later amputated.
This trend underlines the expansion of the threat zone near the front line, where any activity can be spotted by drones and instantly targeted. The increased reach of weapons – now extending more than 20 kilometers (12 mi) from the front lines – has made reporting there more dangerous. Drones, whose operators can often see their targets, have become deadly not only for soldiers but also for civilians.
According to the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, at least 135 media workers have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022.
The deaths of Gramova and Karmazin were confirmed by their employer, the state-owned Freedom TV channel, and the leader of the Donetsk region.
“From the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he covered events in the Donetsk region – told the truth about enemy crimes, the evacuation of civilians and the stories of our defenders,” wrote regional governor Vadim Fylashkin. Telegram“They were always among the first to reach the hottest places.”
In a statement, Freedom said Gramova worked tirelessly in the most dangerous areas of the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions, “telling the world the truth about how the Russian military is destroying her native Donetsk region.”
Gramova was born in Yenakiyev, a town in the Donetsk region, which has been under Russian occupation since 2014.
Karmazin, 33, was a native of Kramatorsk and had been working as a cameraman for the same network since 2021. He is survived by his wife and son.