MOSCOW: A war correspondent for Russia’s RIA news agency was killed and three other Russian journalists were wounded by shelling near the frontline in Ukraine’s southeastern Zaporizhzhia region on Saturday, Russia’s defense ministry said.
The ministry said the journalists were wounded in a Ukrainian artillery strike. They were evacuated from the battlefield but RIA correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev died during the journey, it said.
It said the others were in a serious but stable condition. “There is no threat to life. They are receiving all the necessary medical care,” the ministry said.
RIA confirmed in a report that its correspondent had been killed while reporting in the frontline village of Piatykhatky, and that one of its cameramen was also hurt.
The defense ministry said Ukraine had used cluster munitions in the incident, but did not provide evidence for this and Reuters was not able to verify it independently.
Ukraine received cluster bombs from the United States this month, but it has pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers.
Such weapons contain scores of small bomblets that rain shrapnel over a wide area, but are banned in many countries due to the potential danger they pose to civilians. Ukraine has repeatedly said their use will be limited to the battlefield.
The United Nations has said Russia itself has repeatedly used cluster munitions during the war.
Russian journalist killed, three wounded near Ukraine frontline
https://arab.news/7mgyg
Russian journalist killed, three wounded near Ukraine frontline
- The ministry said the journalists were wounded in a Ukrainian artillery strike
- They were evacuated from the battlefield but RIA correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev died during the journey
Foreign press group welcomes Israel court deadline on Gaza access
- Supreme Court set deadline for responding to petition filed by the Foreign Press Association to Jan. 4
- Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the Strip
JERUSALEM: The Foreign Press Association in Jerusalem on Sunday welcomed the Israeli Supreme Court’s decision to set January 4 as the deadline for Israel to respond to its petition seeking media access to Gaza.
Since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023, sparked by Palestinian militant group Hamas’s attack on Israel, Israeli authorities have prevented foreign journalists from independently entering the devastated territory.
Israel has instead allowed, on a case-by-case basis, a handful of reporters to accompany its troops into the blockaded Palestinian territory.
The Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents hundreds of foreign journalists in Israel and the Palestinian territories, filed a petition to the supreme court last year, seeking immediate access for international journalists to the Gaza Strip.
On October 23, the court held a first hearing on the case, and decided to give Israeli authorities one month to develop a plan for granting access.
Since then the court has given several extensions to the Israeli authorities to come up with their plan, but on Saturday it set January 4 as a final deadline.
“If the respondents (Israeli authorities) do not inform us of their position by that date, a decision on the request for a conditional order will be made on the basis of the material in the case file,” the court said.
The FPA welcomed the court’s latest directive.
“After two years of the state’s delay tactics, we are pleased that the court’s patience has finally run out,” the association said in a statement.
“We renew our call for the state of Israel to immediately grant journalists free and unfettered access to the Gaza Strip.
“And should the government continue to obstruct press freedoms, we hope that the supreme court will recognize and uphold those freedoms,” it added.
An AFP journalist sits on the board of the FPA.
