Jens Asbjørn Bøgen
The soldier killed had been interview by the reporters just moments before the strike.
A German reporting team from Die Welt came under Russian drone fire while working near the front line in eastern Ukraine earlier this month.
The attack left chief reporter Ibrahim Naber and two colleagues wounded, and killed a Ukrainian soldier moments after being interviewed.
Drone attack in Donetsk
Naber said in an Oct. 28 Instagram post that his crew had been filming an air defense unit about 25–30 kilometers from the front when a Russian Lancet drone struck on Oct. 13.
The missile killed the soldier he had just spoken to and gravely injured another, who later lost a leg.
According to Naber, the team had been standing only a few meters away from the three-man air defense group responsible for intercepting Russian drones targeting Ukrainian cities.
“They saved many lives — before the attack hit them,” Naber wrote.
Journalists under threat
The incident highlights the growing risks faced by reporters covering the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s use of long-range drones has expanded its reach, making even rear areas dangerous for media teams and aid workers.
In October alone, at least three journalists have been killed in drone strikes in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian producer Ivan Zakharenko, who was working with Die Welt, suffered the most severe injuries among Naber’s team, with shrapnel still embedded in his leg.
Naber himself was hit by a fragment in the ear, while camera operator Viktor Lysenko sustained a concussion.
The attack was captured on video and featured in a Die Welt report published on Oct. 27.
A deadly month for the press
The same month saw multiple deadly strikes on journalists.
On Oct. 23, Ukrainian journalist Olena Hramova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin from Freedom TV were killed when a Russian drone hit Kramatorsk.
Earlier, on Oct. 3, French photojournalist Antoni Lallican died and Ukrainian photographer Heorhii Ivanchenko was severely injured in another drone strike while working with Ukraine’s 4th Mechanized Brigade in Donetsk Oblast.
According to the Institute of Mass Information (IMI), as of Oct. 9, Russia has killed at least 133 media workers in Ukraine — including journalists who later joined the military — and committed 848 violations against journalists and media outlets since the full-scale invasion began.
This article is made and published by Jens Asbjørn Bogen, who may have used AI in the preparation
