AFP journalist killed in rocket attack in Eastern Ukraine

PARIS – A video journalist for the French news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP) was killed yesterday near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, reported German news agency dpa.

Journalist Arman Soldin, 32, was killed in a rocket attack while accompanying Ukrainian soldiers near the front, AFP announced yesterday. The news agency said four other AFP journalists were with Soldin at the time but were unhurt in the attack. 

“All our thoughts go to his family and loved ones,” AFP wrote in a tweet. 

Bakhmut has been at the centre of heavy fighting between Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders for months now. The city, once home to about 70,000 people, has now been almost completely destroyed since the Russian invasion.

According to Reporters Without Borders, six journalists were killed in Ukraine last year. Soldin is the second journalist to die this year while covering the war in Ukraine. 

Born in Sarajevo, Soldin was a French national, AFP said. – Bernama, May 10, 2023