Rocket fire kills AFP journalist in eastern Ukraine

Nepal Views

Kathmandu: AFP’s Ukraine video coordinator Arman Soldin has been killed by rocket fire near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, AFP journalists who witnessed the incident said.

The attack happened at around 1330 GMT (4:30 pm local time) on the outskirts of the town close to Bakhmut, the epicentre of the fighting in eastern Ukraine for several months.

The AFP team came under fire by Grad rockets while they were with a group of Ukrainian soldiers. Soldin, 32, was killed when a rocket struck close to where he was lying. The rest of the team was uninjured.

‘The whole agency is devastated by the loss of Arman,’ AFP chairman Fabrice Fries said, ‘His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine.’

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Soldin on Twitter, hailing his ‘bravery’.

‘With bravery, from the first hours of the conflict he was at the front to establish the facts. To inform us,’ Macron wrote, saying he shared ‘the pain of his relatives and all his colleagues’.

Ukraine’s defence ministry offered its ‘heartfelt condolences’ to Soldin’s family and coworkers in a statement on Twitter, saying he was killed in a Russian missile attack on Chasiv Yar in the eastern region of Donetsk.

‘He dedicated his life to informing the world about the truth. His legacy, as well as his cause, will live on,’ it said.

Born in Sarajevo, Soldin was a French national who began working for AFP as an intern in its Rome bureau in 2015 and was later hired in London. He was part of the first AFP team to be sent to Ukraine following the start of Russia’s offensive on February 24, 2022, arriving on the following day.

Soldin had been living in Ukraine since September, leading the team’s video coverage and travelling regularly to the front lines in the east and south.

‘Devoted to his craft’

In Washington, the White House also paid tribute to Soldin, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying the world was ‘indebted’ to the journalists who lost their lives covering the conflict.

‘Journalism is fundamental to a free society,’ she said in a statement.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also offered his condolences during a speech at the Freedom House think tank in Washington.

‘Today, we were devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine,’ he said. ‘Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones, and with the entire AFP family.’