AFP journalist Arman Soldin killed by Russian shelling near Bakhmut

Yesterday, May 9, the AFP news agency's video coordinator for Ukraine, Arman Soldin, was killed by a rocket shelling near Chasovyi Yar in the east of Ukraine.

Soldin's AFP colleagues, who witnessed the incident, reported this on Twitter.

"We are devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine today. All of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones," the statement says.

The Institute of Mass Information also reported on the death of a foreign journalist.

According to colleagues who witnessed the incident, Arman Soldin was killed by Russian rocket fire near Chasovyi Yar, Donetsk region. The attack occurred on the city's outskirts near Bakhmut, considered the most prominent flashpoint on the front line in Ukraine. The Ukrainian armed forces have defended the city and area of Bakhmut since the summer of 2022.

According to Lemonde, Arman Soldin and his colleagues from the AFP came under fire while staying with a group of Ukrainian soldiers. The shelling happened around 4:30 p.m.

Soldin, 32, was killed when a rocket struck the place near where he was lying. The rest of the team was not injured.

"The entire agency is devastated by the loss of Armand," AFP head Fabrice Fries said. "His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers journalists face daily covering the Ukraine conflict."

Armand Soldin was born in Sarajevo and was a French citizen. He started working for AFP as an intern in the Rome bureau in 2015 before moving to the London bureau. He was part of the first AFP team to go to Ukraine after Russia's invasion began on February 24, 2022 and arrived the next day. Since September, Soldin lived in Ukraine, managed the team's coverage, and regularly traveled to the front lines in the east and south.

According to IMI, Arman Soldin became the 57th media person who died due to Russian aggression and the 10th journalist while performing professional activities.

Recently, the Russian shelling of the Antonivka bridge near Ukraine's southern city of Kherson on April 26 killed the Ukrainian producer of the Italian newspaper La Repubblica Bohdan Bitik. La Repubblica journalist Corrad Zunino was wounded.