Russian state newspaper Izvestia said one of its freelance reporters was killed in a drone strike near the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow accused the Ukrainian army of deliberately targeting Alexander Martemyanov. Ukraine did not comment.
Izvestia said that a civilian car carrying Martemyanov was hit while traveling on a highway in a Russian-occupied area.
Five other media professionals were reportedly injured in the same attack.
“The Ukrainian army launched a drone strike on a civilian car carrying independent Izvestia correspondent Alexander Martemyanov,” the news agency reported on its Telegram channel.
“The car was far from the touchline.”
The Russian Information Agency said that the car was returning from covering the bombing in the Russian-controlled city of Gorlivka when it was bombed.
The agency added that two journalists affiliated with the Russian Information Agency were injured in the attack.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova described the incident as “premeditated murder.”
In a statement, it described what happened as “another brutal crime in a series of bloody atrocities” committed by the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The European Union shut down Russian media outlets – including Izvestia and RIA – in May, accusing them of enabling “the dissemination and support of Russian propaganda and aggressive war against Ukraine.”
The Committee to Protect Journalists says at least 15 journalists have been killed since Russia's massive invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
