Zelenskyy condemns drone strike that killed Ukrainian journalists in Kramatorsk

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday condemned what he described as a deliberate Russian drone strike that killed two Ukrainian journalists and injured another in the eastern city of Kramatorsk.

“Today in Kramatorsk, a Russian drone directly struck a car with Ukrainian ‘Freedom’ TV reporters, killing journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin, and severely injuring journalist Oleksandr Kolychev,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram.

He expressed condolences to the families and colleagues of the victims, praising their “courage in reporting the truth” and wishing a swift recovery to the injured journalist.

According to Zelenskyy, the attack follows a similar incident in which French photojournalist Antoni Lallican was killed and his Ukrainian colleague Heorhii Ivanchenko wounded.

He claimed that since 2022, 135 media workers have lost their lives amid the ongoing war.

“These are not accidents or mistakes, but a deliberate strategy to silence independent voices reporting about war crimes,” he alleged, calling on media organizations, international institutions, and governments to “support Ukraine’s defense and increase pressure” to end the conflict.

The Russian side has not commented on the latest incident.