French journalist dies under rocket attack in Ukraine; there are already 11 since the beginning of the war
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The 32-year-old cameraman was with Ukrainian servicemen and four colleagues who escaped unharmed from the Grad rocket attack.
French news agency AFP video coordinator in Ukraine Arman Soldin was killed Tuesday in a Grad rocket attack near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, his team members accompanying him said.
The bombardment occurred on the outskirts of that town near Bakhmut, the target of daily fire from Russian forces.
Arman Soldin, 32, was with four colleagues, who escaped unscathed from the attack. The team was with the Ukrainian military when it came under fire from Grad rockets.
“The Agency as a whole is in shock,” said AFP President Fabrice Fries.
“His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine.”
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) May 9, 2023
-- @AFP chairman Fabrice Fries, on the death of Arman Soldin
Full story: https://t.co/SoRzQQo11C pic.twitter.com/UIHGgYmLY0
Arman's death “is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers that journalists covering the conflict in Ukraine face on a daily basis,” he added.
AFP Information Director Phil Chetwynd highlighted the work of a “brave, creative and tenacious” reporter.
“Arman's brilliant work summed up everything that makes us proud of AFP journalism in Ukraine,” he added.
Arman Soldin, a French national and born in Sarajevo (Bosnia), joined the French agency in 2015 in Rome and was posted to London that same year.
#AFP journalist @ArmanSoldin killed on Tuesday, by a rocket strike as he reported with AFP colleagues from Ukrainian positions, was among the very first AFP special correspondents to enter #Ukraine after the Russian invasion. His brilliant work encapsulated everything that has… pic.twitter.com/aHsjihTUpG
— Stephanie Youssef (@stephanie_ysf) May 9, 2023
He is the eleventh reporter, guide or driver of journalists killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, according to a record by the specialized NGOs RSF and CPJ.
Soldin, an experienced camera journalist, who was a London correspondent, had been a video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022 and regularly went to the front lines.
He was also part of the AFP team that covered the first days of the Russian invasion. “Arman was enthusiastic, energetic, brave. He was a true reporter, always ready to go, even to the most difficult areas,” said AFP Europe region director Christine Buhagiar.
French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Soldin's “courage,” saying he shares “the pain of his relatives and all his colleagues.”
His “tragic death” when “covering the war in Ukraine reminds us of the courage of all journalists who commit themselves to inform us at the risk of their lives,” said French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.