GENEVA, March 26. /TASS/. Representative of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on Freedom of the Media Jan Braathu has expressed his condolences to the relatives of Russian journalists killed in the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), the organization's press service told TASS.
"On behalf of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, we extend condolences to the relatives of those killed and injured," the statement, received in response to a TASS inquiry sent on March 25, said. The text also pointed out that Braathu once "again strongly encourages the fulfilment of OSCE commitments in ensuring that journalists can carry out their work freely and safely."
"Every civilian death, including of journalists, is a tragedy," the press service quoted Braathu as saying.
On March 24, Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak, along with a cameraman and a driver for the Zvezda TV channel, Andrey Panov and Alexander Sirkeli, were killed in a Ukrainian shelling attack on the rural settlement of Mikhailovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic. Zvezda TV channel correspondent Nikita Goldin was also seriously wounded. Ukrainian forces targeted the car of the filming crew with HIMARS missiles.
On March 26, the press service of Channel One reported told TASS that journalist Anna Prokofieva was killed while performing her professional duty in the Belgorod Region, while cameraman Dmitry Volkov, who was accompanying her, was injured.