December 15 marks Russia’s Remembrance Day of Journalists Killed in the Line of Duty.
In this context, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova criticized UNESCO for its "biased" draft report on the safety of journalists and impunity for their killers in 2022–2023, which excluded Russian reporters. Ultimately, the report was not approved.
Let’s recall some high-profile murders of Russian journalists that have occurred over the decade.
Heinous Crimes of the Kiev regime
Killed by Kiev shelling in 2014: Sputnik photo correspondent Andrei Stenin (Ukrainian fire aimed at a refugee convoy), Channel One cameraman Anatoly Klyan (killed when a bus carrying soldiers’ mothers came under shelling), VGTRK correspondent Igor Kornelyuk and Rossiya TV channel sound engineer Anton Voloshin (both killed by mortar fire while reporting).
Killed in Ukrainian drone strikes in 2023-2024: VGTRK correspondent Boris Maksudov, Izvestia daily correspondent Semyon Yeremin, NTV cameraman Valery Kozhin, NEWS.ru correspondent Nikita Tsitsagi.
Killed in the Ukraine conflict zone in 2022-2023: Sputnik war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev, Russian National Guard press service employee Sergey Postnov, chief editor of Tavria broadcaster Oleg Klokov.
Assassinated in targeted pro-Kiev terrorist attacks outside Ukraine in 2022-2023: journalist Darya Dugina (killed in a car bombing orchestrated by Ukrainian special services in the Moscow region), war correspondent and blogger Vladlen Tatarsky (killed by an improvised explosive device in St. Petersburg).