The Russian defense ministry stated on September 8 that officers rescued an Italian journalist who was covering the fighting from the side of the Ukrainian troops. Sorbi was admitted to the intensive care unit with multiple shrapnel wounds and received the necessary medical care.
"An Italian journalist, who was injured by a mine in the Kherson region, has been treated and is already on his way back to Italy. The Russian Red Cross, the oldest humanitarian organization in the country, organized the treatment of the foreign journalist in Russia, provided assistance and transportation," the RRC said.
The President of the Russian Red Cross, Pavel Savchuk, noted that the Italian Red Cross appealed to the Russian side to help with Sorbi's situation.
"The President of the Italian Red Cross, Francesco Rocca, asked us to help return the journalist to Italy. And we quickly responded to the request... We got in touch with Mattia, found out that he was well cared for, and that his condition was stable. The Kherson hospital, where the journalist was staying, ensured his transportation to Crimea, where the Russian Red Cross took him in and provided for his further logistics," Savchuk explained.
Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera published a photo of Sorbi on stretchers being carried up on board a plane. The newspaper noted that the plane, which was provided by the crisis center of the Italian foreign ministry, will head to Istanbul and then fly to Milan.