Russian drone directly strikes civilian vehicle. Two Ukrainian journalists die

A Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle in Kramatorsk on 23 October, killing two journalists from Freedom, a Ukrainian state television channel that broadcasts in Russian for foreign audiences.

Journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin died in the attack. Their colleague, journalist Oleksandr Kolychev, survived with mine-blast trauma, shrapnel wounds, and an open fracture.

Both journalists reported from their home region under Russian assault

Hubanova and Karmazin had been covering the war from the frontlines since its early days, Freedom reports.

Hubanova, 43, who used the professional name Alona Hramova, was originally from Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast, a city that had been occupied since 2014. Trained as a financier, she shifted to journalism after Russian aggression began.

"For me, the war began in 2014," she said in an interview, describing how she had moved to Kramatorsk, the city which spent over two months under occupation that year. The experience transformed her from a volunteer into a war correspondent. 

Karmazin, 33, was from Kramatorsk and had worked as a cameraman for the same channels since 2021. He leaves behind a son, wife, and parents. 

According to the Prosecutor's Office, both journalists "worked in the hottest spots of Donetsk Oblast" and "showed the world the truth about the war, civilian evacuation, and enemy crimes."

President Zelenskyy these are deliberate attacks on "independent voices"

President Zelenskyy also reacted to the incident and framed the attack as part of a deliberate pattern.

"Russia continues to attack journalists who cover its war against Ukraine, killing them and causing them injuries," he stated. "These are not accidents or mistakes, but Russia's deliberate strategy aimed at silencing all independent voices that tell the world about Russia's war crimes in Ukraine."

Russia killed French photojournalist earlier this month

The strike on Hubanova and Karmazin follows the 3 October death of French photojournalist Anthony Lallican, who was killed by a Russian FPV drone near Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast.

Lallican, a Parisian journalist who had covered conflict zones worldwide, arrived in Ukraine in March 2022 and had been documenting the war's impact on Donetsk Oblast residents. He and Ukrainian photojournalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko were both wearing body armor marked "PRESS" when the drone struck—Ivanchenko survived with injuries.

French President Emmanuel Macron expressed condolences to Lallican's family and colleagues "who, risking their lives, inform us and bear witness to the reality of war." 

Lallican was the third French journalist killed in Ukraine since the full-scale invasion.