Moscow abdicates all responsibility. Russia “cannot conduct an investigation” into the death of AFP journalist Arman Soldin, who was killed in Ukraine in May 2023 near the then-besieged town of Bakhmut, a Kremlin spokesman assured on Wednesday.
“Russia cannot conduct an investigation here. It is probably necessary to contact the Ukrainian side,” Dmitry Peskov said in an interview on the eve of the first anniversary of the death of the AFP video coordinator in Ukraine. “If I understand correctly, at the time of his death he was in territory controlled by the Kyiv regime,” he added.
Arman Soldin died at the age of 32 during a rocket attack while he was reporting in Chasovy Yar, near the front in the Donetsk region (east), along with Ukrainian soldiers. He then covered the most active fighting of the conflict – for the town of Bakhmut, located about ten kilometers from Chasiv Yar and conquered by Russia at the end of May 2023 after more than nine months of fighting.
“His humanity and humor left lasting memories.”
Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s news director, paid tribute to the “young and brilliant journalist” on Tuesday. “His strength of character, his humanity and his humor left lasting memories,” he said.
The National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office opened a preliminary war crimes investigation in France in May 2023 to establish the circumstances of the death of Armand Soldin and the origin of the shots.
According to specialized NGOs, about fifteen journalists have been killed in Ukraine since the Moscow army attacked in February 2022. Russia, for its part, has repeatedly accused Ukraine of attacks on Russian journalists, some of whom have died. But she denies responsibility for the deaths of reporters attributed to her army’s strikes.
Source: Le Parisien
I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.
