Moscow blames the West, Kyiv for Russian journalist’s death in Ukraine, vows ‘response’

A Russian journalist was killed and three were injured in Ukraine, on Saturday (July 22), said the country’s defence ministry in what it said was a Ukrainian attack using cluster munitions and has since prompted outrage in Moscow. Meanwhile, the Russian foreign ministry has blamed the West and Kyiv for what it described as a “heinous, premeditated crime” and vowed a “response”.

What do we know about the Russian journalist’s death?

According to the Russian military, a war reporter for the state news agency RIA identified as Rostislav Zhuravlev was killedafter coming under fire in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region. Meanwhile, three of his colleagues were injured and were later evacuated from the battlefield.

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The war reporter was killed near the frontline village of Pytikhatki, said the Russian news agency. “As a result of a strike by the Ukrainian army using cluster munitions, four journalists were wounded in various levels of severity,” said the Russian defence ministry.

It added, “During an evacuation, the RIA Novosti journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev died from his wounds that resulted from the cluster munitions exploding.” Furthermore, the three journalists who got injured were said to be stable in hospital after the attack.

The Russian ministry said that the journalists attacked were in the midst of “gathering material for a report on the bombing by the Kyiv regime militants of settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region using cluster munitions banned in many countries around the world.”

Moscow fumes over attack on Russian journalists

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called the attack “criminal terror” by Ukraine and claimed that the attack appeared deliberate but did not provide any evidence for her claims.

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She added, “Those responsible for the brutal reprisal against a Russian journalist will inevitably suffer well-deserved punishment. The entire measure of responsibility will be shared by those who supplied cluster munitions to their Kyiv protégés.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Speaker of the Russian upper house of parliament, Konstantin Kosachyov called the use of cluster munitions “inhuman” and blamed both the United States and Ukraine. Notably, human rights groups and the United Nations have reported that Russia has been using cluster munitions since the beginning of what it calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

German reporter wounded by Russian cluster munitions

In a separate incident which also took place on Saturday, German state-owned international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW) reported that their cameraman was injured by shrapnel in an apparent cluster bomb attack by Russia which targeted the Ukrainian army training ground in Donbas.

The alleged attack took place at 12:10 pm (local time) when the DW team came under Russian artillery fire while filming at a Ukrainian army training ground near Druzhkivka, said the German broadcaster, in a statement.

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Another DW correspondent Mathias Bolinger and a security escort, who was not named, were reported “unharmed.” The DW said that Shylko is being treated in a Ukrainian hospital and his condition was described as “stable so far”.

“We were filming the Ukrainian army during target practice when suddenly we heard several explosions. We lay down, more explosions followed, we saw people were wounded. Later, the Ukrainian army confirmed that we had been fired at with cluster munitions,” said Bolinger.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

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