AFP journalist Arman Soldin killed by rocket fire in Ukraine

A Bosnian-French video journalist covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the onset of the conflict was killed by rocket fire while reporting from the frontlines Tuesday.

Arman Soldin, the Ukraine video coordinator for Agence France Presse, was with fellow AFP journalists and a group of Ukrainian soldiers near Chasiv Yar when the team came under fire around 4:30 p.m., the news agency said.

Soldin, 32, was killed when a Grad rocket landed near him, according to four AFP coworkers who witnessed the attack.

No other journalists were injured.

“The whole agency is devastated by the loss of Arman,” AFP chairman Fabrice Fries said.

“His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine.”

Soldin was one of the first AFP journalists to be sent to Ukraine — just one day after Russia invaded the country on Feb. 24, 2022.

He had been living in the war-torn country since September and regularly traveled to the most combative zones to lead the team’s coverage on the invasion, AFP said.

When he was killed Tuesday, the journalist was reporting in a town nearby Bakhmut, which has become the epicenter of the battle in eastern Ukraine.

Soldin had worked at AFP since 2015 when he was hired as an intern for the Rome bureau. He was born in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and was also a French citizen.

He was described as “enthusiastic, energetic and brave” by AFP’s Europe director Christine Buhagiar.

“He was a real on-the-ground reporter, always ready to work even in the most difficult places,” she said.

“He was totally devoted to his craft.”

Soldin is the 11th journalist, fixer or media worker to be killed in the Russia-Ukraine war since Ukraine invaded last year, according to Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

“Journalists are civilians whose reporting from war zones is essential,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in New York.

“We call on Russian and Ukrainian authorities to thoroughly investigate the circumstances of Soldin’s death.”

The Biden administration also sent its condolences to Soldin on Tuesday.

“Our hearts go out to the family of journalist Arman Soldin, who lost his life today reporting from the front lines of the war in Ukraine, and to Arman’s colleagues at the AFP,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

“Journalism is fundamental to a free society.

“The world is indebted to Arman and to the 10 other reporters and media workers who have lost their lives while shining a light on the horrors of Russia’s invasion.”