AFP journalist Arman Soldin dies from rocket fire in Ukraine

The video coordinator of the AFP in Ukraine, Arman Soldindied Tuesday in a Grad rocket attack near Chasiv Yarin the east of Ukrainereported the AFP journalists who accompanied him.

The bombardment occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. GMT), on the outskirts of that town near bakhmuta target of daily fire from Russian forces.

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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 the grad rockets.

“The Agency as a whole is shocked”, declared the president of the AFP, Fabrice Fries.

AFP journalist Arman Soldin takes a selfie with a cat on his shoulder during a mission for AFP in Ukraine. He was killed by a rocket in Chasiv Yar on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Arman SOLDIN / AFP) (ARMAN SOLDIN /)

Arman’s deathis a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers that journalists covering the conflict in Ukraine”, he added.

The Director of Information of the AFP, phil chetwyndhighlighted the work of a reporter “brave, creative and tenacious”.

“Arman’s brilliant work summed up everything that makes us proud of AFP journalism in Ukraine.”, he added.

Arman Soldin, an experienced cameraman journalist, who was a correspondent in Londonhe was a video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022 and regularly went to the front line.

He was also part of the AFP team that covered the first days of the Russian invasion.

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“Arman was enthusiastic, energetic, brave. He was a true reporter, always ready to go, even to the most difficult areas.”, said the director of the region Europe from the AFP, Christine Buhagiar.

“He overflowed with energy, and that is how he defined himself in the networks. He had a total devotion to his job as a journalist”, he stressed.

Arman Soldin, of French nationality and born in Sarajevo (Bosnia), joined AFP in 2015 in Rome and was posted to London that same year.

AFP journalist Arman Soldin walks in a trench while covering the war in Ukraine on March 18, 2023. He was killed by a rocket in Chasiv Yar on May 9, 2023. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP) (ARIS MESSINIS/ )

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 of specialized NGOs RSF and CPJ.

Macron salutes Soldin’s “courage”

french president Emmanuel Macron greeted the “courage” from AFP journalist Arman Soldin, and said that he shares “the pain of his relatives and all his colleagues”.

“journalist of the Agence France-Presse, one of our compatriots, Arman Soldin, died in Ukraine. Full of courage, from the first hours of the conflict he was at the front to show the facts. to inform usMacron wrote on Twitter.

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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 the French Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense presented its “condolences” on Tuesday after Soldin’s death.

“We offer our sincere condolences to his family and colleagues”, the ministry wrote on Twitter, adding that he “he devoted his life to showing the truth to the world”.

Source: Elcomercio