A French journalist working for Agence France-Presse news agency has been killed in Ukraine in a Russian rocket strike near the battle-torn eastern city of Bakhmut.
Arman Soldin, a 32-year-old video coordinator, died on Monday when a Grad missile landed close to where he was lying. Soldin was with Ukrainian soldiers in the town of Chasiv Yar, six miles (10km) from Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for months.
His colleagues were with him when the attack happened. The rest of the team was uninjured. “The whole agency is devastated by the loss of Arman,” the AFP chair Fabrice Fries said. “His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine.”
At least 11 journalists, fixers and drivers for media organisations have been killed covering the war in Ukraine, according to the group Reporters Without Borders. Last week a Ukrainian fixer, Bogdan Bitik, was shot dead in the southern city of Kherson and the Italian correspondent Corrado Zunino injured.
Russian snipers opened fire on the pair after spotting them next to the Antonivskyi Bridge between the Ukrainian-controlled and Russian-occupied banks of the Dnipro River.
Friends paid tribute to Soldin, describing him as a “fantastic reporter”.
“Terrible news. You can really say that Arman risked his life to tell the story,” the Guardian’s former Kyiv correspondent Isobel Koshiw tweeted.
She added: “He seemed to be almost constantly on the frontlines and was one of the very few in the east throughout the last several months.”
Terrible news. He was a fantastic reporter. You can really say that Arman risked his life to tell the story. He seemed to be almost constantly on the frontlines and was one of the very few in the east throughout the last several months. https://t.co/PHuVc3nO5U
— Isobel Koshiw (@IKoshiw) May 9, 2023
Ukraine’s defence ministry has recently introduced a new system of media accreditation. Special permission is now required to visit red zones, in areas close to Russian military positions. The Ukrainian army typically escorts journalists in visits to the frontline.
Born in Sarajevo, Soldin was a French national. He began working for AFP as an intern in its Rome bureau in 2015 and was later hired in London, the agency said. He was part of the first AFP team to be sent to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion on 24 February 2022, arriving the next day.
Soldin had been living in Ukraine since September, leading the team’s coverage and travelling regularly to hotspots in the east and south.
“Arman’s brilliant work encapsulated everything that has made us so proud of AFP’s journalism in Ukraine,” the agency’s global news director, Phil Chetwynd, said in a statement.
“His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers of covering this war. Our thoughts tonight are with his family and friends, and with all our people on the ground in Ukraine.”
AFP’s Europe director, Christine Buhagiar, remembered Soldin as “enthusiastic, energetic and brave”. “He was a real on-the-ground reporter, always ready to work even in the most difficult places,” she said. “He was totally devoted to his craft.”
