LONDON: A Ukrainian camera operator was killed on Wednesday when Russian forces shelled a television tower in Kyiv in what has been described as a “reckless attack.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists, a media watchdog, condemned the killing of Yevhenii Sakun, and urged all parties to the conflict to protect media personnel and organizations.
“We are deeply saddened by the death of Ukrainian journalist Yevhenii Sakun, who was killed in a reckless Russian attack on civilian infrastructure in Kyiv,” Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, said.
“All parties to the conflict must protect local and international journalists, and stop targeting media facilities and equipment.”
Sakun, 49, was a camera operator for the Ukrainian television station LIVE, which has covered the Russian invasion. Four other people died in the attack.
His death follows an attack on two journalists who were wounded last week while reporting near the eastern Ukrainian city of Ohtyrka.
The reporters, both working for the Danish newspaper Esktra Bladet, were at the scene of a suspected Russian airstrike when a bomb exploded nearby and unidentified gunmen opened fire.
The journalists fled and later received treatment at a local hospital, according to Knud Brix, the newspaper’s chief editor.
Both are in a stable condition and are expected to recover, he added.
Brix said that both journalists were wearing protective equipment that identified them as members of the media, and had shouted “press!” while they were under attack.
