MOSCOW, June 30 (RIA Novosti) – A criminal case has been opened to investigate the death of yet another Russian journalist in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk Region prosecutors said in a statement Monday. The statement says the pretrial investigation was launched into suspected premeditated murder.
Earlier the same day, Russian investigators initiated a criminal investigation into the same tragic event.
Spokesman for the Russian Investigative Committee Vladimir Markin specified that the case is an extension on previous filings over “use of military force by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” and “use of banned weaponry and methods in time of war.”
Cameraman from Russia’s Channel-1 television station Anatoly Klyan was killed late Sunday night by gunfire while traveling with a group of refugees by bus outside the city of Donetsk.
The Russian Foreign Ministry demanded Kiev investigate the death of the journalist. According to the ministry’s statement, “The death of the Russian journalist has again proven that Ukraine’s power structures obviously do not want to de-escalate the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine and are blocking the fragile ceasefire."
Earlier in June, two employees of Russia’s state-run VGTRK media holding lost their lives in a mortar attack near the Ukrainian city of Luhansk. According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 200 journalists have been injured or attacked in Ukraine since the start of the year.
Violence in southeastern Ukraine has been on the rise since the beginning of the punitive operation launched by Kiev authorities in mid-April. The special operation has already claimed multiple lives, including civilians and children, as well as journalists on their professional duty.
