VIENNA, August 29 /TASS/. OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovic has called on Ukrainian authorities to thoroughly investigate the death of journalist Alexander Shchetinin, the OSCE press service said on Monday.

"The circumstances of this tragedy must be swiftly and thoroughly investigated," Mijatovi· said. "His death is a loss for media community and my sincere condolences go out to Shchetinin’s family, friends and colleagues," Mijatovic stressed.

She reiterated her call on the authorities to improve the fragile situation regarding the safety of journalists and fully and effectively address the issue of impunity, the OSCE press service said.

On 28 August, Russian journalist Alexander Shchetinin, the founder of the Novyi Region news agency, was found dead in his apartment in Kiev, where he had lived since 2004, with a gunshot wound.

Ukrainian police have initiated criminal proceedings on charges of deliberate murder with ab additional legal qualification of "suicide.".