113 media workers deceased in Ukraine since the start of the Russo-Ukrainian war

Illustration by the IMI

113 media workers have died in Ukraine at the hands of Russian forces since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014. Of these, 106 died after the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in 2022, according to the monitoring study by the Institute of Mass Information.

A total of 15 media workers have died while reporting since 2014, with 14 dying as civilian casualties and 84 as combatants.

“Ukraine has lost dozens of journalists since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war — both Ukrainian and foreign ones. These were brave people who risked their lives to bring the truth about Russia’s crimes to the world. Their reports gave voice to those who were being forcibly silenced. Thanks to their dedication, the world learned about Bucha, Izyum, Mariupol. Moreover, some media workers left their jobs, enlisting in the army to defend our country from the Russian invasion. These are not just numbers, these are people’s lives. These losses remind us of how high a price the Ukrainian media community is paying for the right to speak the truth,” said Kateryna Dyachuk, head of the Freedom of Speech Monitoring Department at the Institute of Mass Information.

The list of journalists who died while reporting. Six of these are Ukrainians and nine are foreign citizens. Three are women and 12 are men.

1. Yevhen Sakun, LIVE TV cameraman (died on March 1, 2022, in a Russian rocket strike on a Kyiv TV tower).
2. Brent Renaud, documentarist, Time correspondent (shot by the Russian troops at an Irpin checkpoint on March 13, 2022).
   
3. Pierre Zakrzewski, Fox News cameraman, Irish citizen (died in a Russian artillery strike on Horenka village, Kyiv oblast, on March 14, 2022).
4. Oleksandra Kuvshynova, Ukrainian fixer, journalist (died together with Pierre Zakrzewski in a Russian artillery strike on Horenka village, Kyiv oblast, on March 14, 2022).
5. Oksana Baulina, journalist with the Russian media outlet The Insider and Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Fund (killed in a Russian strike on Kyiv while on an editorial assignment on March 23, 2022).  
6. Maksym Levin, went missing on March 13, 2022, and found executed by the Russian troops in Huta Mezhyhirska village (Kyiv oblast) on April 2.
   
7. Mantas Kvedaravicius, Lithuanian filmmaker and documentarist, killed by the Russian troops in Mariupol in April 2022).
   
8. Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, journalist for the French BFMTV (died in a Russian strike on an evacuation vehicle in Luhansk oblast on May 30, 2022, while reporting on the evacuation effort).
9. Bohdan Bitik, Ukrainian producer for the Italian La Repubblica (died in a Russian strike on Kherson while working with the newspaper's correspondent Corrado Zunino on April 26, 2023).
10. Arman Soldin, video reporter for the French news agency AFP (died in a "Grad" shelling strike near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk oblast, on May 9, 2023).
11. Ryan Evans, safety advisor for the British news agency Reuters (killed in a Russian strike on Sapphire Hotel in Kramatorsk on August 24, 2024).
    
12. Viktoria Roshchyna, Ukrainian journalist who went missing in Ukraine's occupied territories in August 2023. Russia confirmed in May 2024 that she had been detained and was in Russia. Her death in a Russian prison was reported on October 10, 2024.

Journalists who died in 2014–2015:

13. Segodnya photo correspondent Serhiy Nikolayev (2015).

14. Italian photo reporter Andrea Rocchelli (2014).

15. Andrea Rocchelli's fixer and interpreter Andrey Mironov. 

14 journalists died as civilian casualties of Russian shelling strikes:

1. Oleksandr Lytkin, journalist with KNK Media (died in a Russian shelling strike on Romanivka village on February 13, 2022).
2. Dilerbek Shakirov, civilian journalist with the news weekly Navkolo Tebe (shot from an automatic rifle by Russian troops near Zelenivka (Kherson suburb) on February 26, 2022).
3. Pavlo Li, actor, Dom TV presenter, enlisted in the Territorial Defense Forces with the start of the full-scale war (died while evacuating locals near Irpin on March 6, 2022).
4. Viktor Dedov, Sigma TV cameraman (died in a shelling strike on Mariupol on March 11, 2022).
5. Lilia Humyanova, journalism teacher and head of the art department of Livoberezhnyi District House of Children's and Youth Creativity (died in a Russian shelling strike on Mariupol on March 19, 2022).
6. Yevhen Bal, journalist, writer, volunteer (tortured to death by Russian troops in Mariupol on April 2, 2022).
7. Roman Nezhyborets, video engineer with the Chernihiv-based TV channel Dytynets (killed by Russian troops in Yahidne, Chernihiv oblast, between April 5 and 8, 2022).
8. Zoreslav Zamoyskiy, journalist with the online media outlets Informatsiynyi Portal and Hromada Pryirpinnya (body with signs of murder found in Bucha on April 13, 2022).
9. Vira Hirych, RFE/RL producer (died in a Russian shelling strike on Kyiv on April 28, 2022).
   
10. Natalya Kharakoz, journalist, writer, NUJU and National Writers Association of Ukraine member, chair of the literature club Azovye (died in Mariupol on March 29, 2022, while the city was under Russian blockade).
    
11. Oksana Haydar (pen name Ruda Pani), journalist, blogger (died in a Russian artillery strike on Shevchenkove village, Brovary district, Kyiv oblast, on March 15, 2022).
    
12. Ihor Hudenko, photographer, video blogger (found dead in Kharkiv on February 27, 2022. Proclaimed biologically dead by doctors. According to the doctors, the death was not violent. Ihor Hudenko was buried on April 7 by the state burial service).
13. Volodymyr Datstenko, servicemember, journalist with the NGO Road Control Vinnytsia, volunteer (died in a Russian shelling strike on Vinnytsia on July 14, 2022).
14. Tetyana Kulyk, Ukrinform journalist, author and host of the show Nation of the Undefeated (died in a Russian drone strike on Kyiv oblast in the early hours of February 26, 2025).

84 journalists were killed in action as combatants, having enlisted in the UAF and defending Ukraine at arms:

1. Viktor Hurnyak, co-founder of the photo agency LUFA, contributor to Insider, Reuters, UNIAN; reported from the Maidan in winter, left a series of photos depicting the life of the Aydar Batallion (killed on October 19, 2014, while trying to evacuate fellow soldiers from the battlefield).
2. Oleksandr Chernikov, journalist for the TV program Governorate Chronicles on Dnipro's Channel 9 turned soldier of Company No. 9, Batallion No. 3, Airborne Brigade No. 25 (killed in action during the Donetsk airport battle on January 22, 2015).
3. Dmytro Labutkin, Sevastopol-based reporter with the Ukrainian Navy TV company "Breeze", Post Captain (went missing in action near Debaltseve (Donetsk oblast) on February 16, 2015. Body found in a Dnipro morgue in March 2015).
4. Oleh Zadoyanchuk, chief editor at Oleksandr Tkachenko's Pislyamova, project editor at Oblychchya Svitu, news editor for Novyi Kanal, Channel 5, TSN, City TV, worked with Ukrinform (died in a Russian artillery strike near Luhansk in the early hours of September 4, 2014).
5. Serhiy Pushchenko, artist, culturologist, Honored Artist of Ukraine, National Journalist Union of Ukraine member, award-winning journalist, volunteer, and ATO veteran (killed in action along with other TDF fighters in Vasylkiv, Kyiv oblast, on March 2, 2022).
6. Viktor Dudar, serviceman, journalist from Lviv oblast (killed in action near Mykolaiv on March 6, 2022).
7. Oleh Yakunin, misto.zp.ua website editor (killed in action near Volnovakha, Donetsk oblast, on March 18, 2022).
8. Yuriy Oliynyk, Channel 24 cameraman (killed in action near Popasna, Luhansk oblast, on March 23, 2022).
9. Serhiy Zayikovskyi, essayist, historian, translator (killed in action in Lukyanivka village, Kyiv oblast, on March 24, 2022).
10. Denys Kotenko, Veteran Affairs Ministry press office member (killed in action in Lukyanivka village, Kyiv oblast, on March 24, 2022).
11. Oleksandr Makhov, serviceman, journalist with Ukraina TV, Ukraina24, Dom TV (killed in action while defending Dovhenke village, Kharkiv oblast, on May 4, 2022).
12. Yevhen Starynets, former Suspilne Cherkasy branch manager, serviceman (killed in action in Popasna, Luhansk oblast, on April 30, 2022).
13. Maksym Medynskyi, communications manager, serviceman (killed in action near Kharkiv on April 29, 2022).
14. Kostyantyn Kits, serviceman, cameraman with Lutsk-based Avers TV (killed in action while fighting near Siverskodonetsk, Luhansk oblast, in May 2022).
15. Vitaliy Derekh, Ternopil journalist and UAF serviceman (killed in action near Bakhmut on May 28, 2022).
16. Roman Zhuk, serviceman, photographer and videographer from Mukachevo (killed in action near Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on May 26, 2022).
17. Oleksiy Chubashev, serviceman, author and host of Recruit.UA, former Armiya FM manager (killed in action while fighting near Siverskodonetsk, Luhansk oblast, on June 10, 2022).
18. Karim Gulamov, host for the music TV channel M2 and UAF serviceman (killed in action in Zarichne village, Kherson oblast, on July 17, 2022).
19. Mykola Rachok, journalist with InfoCar, serviceman (killed in action near Pokrovske village, Donetsk oblast, on July 19, 2022).
20. Oleksandr Savochenko, journalist with STB, then AFP, and later Suspilne; serviceman (killed in action near Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast, in July 2022).
    
21. Oleksiy Yurchenko, serviceman, Pryamyi TV cameraman (killed in action while fighting to liberate Balaklia, Kharkiv oblast, on September 8, 2022). 
22. Dmytro Shypovskyi, cameraman with Pryvat TV: Kharkiv and Al Jazeera, serviceman (killed by mortar fire near Druzhba village, Donetsk oblast, on September 21, 2022).
    
23. Yuriy Lelyavskyi, journalist,  chief of public relations at the UAF air assault brigade No. 80 (killed in action in the South of Ukraine on September 28, 2022). 
24. Serhiy Sylkin, Ivano-Frankivsk-born serviceman, former Suspilne employee (killed in action near Bakhmut on October 17, 2022).
25. Vasyl Yavorskyi, serviceman, director at Pershyi Zakhidnyi TV and Espreso TV, co-founder of the project "A Hero's Story" (killed in action in Luhansk oblast on October 21, 2022).
26. Anton Kolomiyets, serviceman, media worker from Kherson; worked as host and director at Skifiya TV and later at Suspilne (killed in action near Bakhmut on December 20, 2022).
27. Ihor Teryokhin, serviceman, journalist, author, restaurant owner from Odesa; worked at BC RIAK at Hlas Media Group (killed in action in Kherson oblast on January 23, 2023).
28. Pavlo Tymoshenko, serviceman, cameraman for Inter TV's Cherkasy branch (killed in action near Vuhledar, Donetsk oblast, on February 5, 2023).
29. Oleksiy Borys, serviceman, journalist with Yurydychna Hazeta (killed in action in Donetsk oblast on February 9, 2023).
30. Serhiy Klymenko, serviceman, Suspilne Kherson employee (killed in action in Maryinka, Donetsk oblast, on February 5, 2023).
31. Andriy Zahoruyko, serviceman, Kyiv TV presenter (killed in action near Spirne village, Bakhmut district, on November 3, 2022).
32. Oleksiy Olkhovyk, serviceman, Suspilne cameraman (killed in action in Bakhmut, Donetsk oblast, on March 13, 2023).
33. Oleksandr Tsakhniv, serviceman, journalist with the news agency Vchasno; investigated and reported on corruption in Donetsk oblast cities (killed in action near Kurdyumivka, Donetsk oblast, on March 25, 2023).
34. Andriy Boyko, serviceman, former cameraman with the Ivano-Frankivsk broadcasting company Vezha (killed in a Russian strike near Hulyaipole, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on April 6, 2023).
35. Vladyslav Dzikovskyi, serviceman, Detector Media system administrator (killed in action between Kreminna and Serebryanka, Luhansk oblast, in December 2022).
36. Dmytro Siryk, serviceman, program host at Suspilne Donbas; worked at Puls and other radio stations for 15 years as a DJ, sound editor, host (killed in action near Avdiyivka, Donetsk oblast, on April 20, 2023).
37. Oleksandr Bondarenko, serviceman, journalist, communications manager (killed by a sniper during a battle near Dibrova, Luhansk oblast, on April 22, 2023).
38. Volodymyr Mukan, serviceman, journalist with Hazeta Po-Ukrainsky, Krayina magazine, and Gazeta.ua (killed while performing a combat mission in Bakhmut on April 29, 2023).
39. Denys Kryvyi, serviceman, nature photographer; specialized in landscape and reportage photography, worked with National Geographic Ukraine and the Pervomaysk media outlet HradCity (killed near Bakhmut while trying to rescue his fellow soldiers in 2023).
40. Ivan Kuzminskyi, serviceman, director at the children's TV channel Malyatko (killed in action near Dibrova, Luhansk oblast, on May 17, 2023).
41. Yevheniy Osiyevskyi, servicemember, contributor to Kunsht and Commons (killed in action near Bakhmut on May 22, 2023).
42. Viktor Petrov, servicemember, Lviv journalist, first editor with Sykhiv Media (killed in Luhansk oblast on May 29, 2023).
43. Roman Chornomaz, serviceman, journalist, photo reporter, Nasha Vira contributor (killed in action near Bakhmut on June 13, 2023).
44. Ivan Shulha, serviceman, former sound editor at Starlight Media and live sound editor at Pryamyi TV (killed near Bakhmut on June 16, 2023).
45. Kostyantyn Hnitetskyi, serviceman, former Suspilne Rivne videographer, (killed in a Russian shelling strike on UAF positions near Dibrova, Luhansk oblast, on July 16, 2023).
46. Dmytro Rybakov, serviceman, journalsit, historian; worked as an editor and media consultant at Chas.News, Forbes Ukraine, LB, Ukrainian Pravda (killed in Zaporizhzhia oblast on July 18, 2023).
47. Maksym Swartzman, serviceman, photo correspondent, cameraman with the Chernivtsi news agency A.C.C. (killed in Donetsk oblast on July 15, 2023).
48. Volodymyr Myroniuk, photographer, freelance contributor to Petropavlivka.City and Stepova Zorya; lived in the USA and had American citizenship; worked as a photographer while serving in the army (killed in action near Kurdyumivka, Donetsk oblast, in September 2023).
49. Andriy Kryshtal, serviceman, journalist, Samooborona chief editor (wounded in action in the South, losing his leg, later died while undergoing rehabilitation in a Lviv hospital on September 27, 2023).
50. Taras Davydiuk, serviceman, founder and chief editor of the Rivne-based news outlet Horyn.Info (killed on the outskirts of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on November 3, 2023).
51. Oleksandr Popov, serviceman, former cameraman at Suspilne Mykolaiv (killed in action near Kupyansk, Kharkiv oblast, on November 22, 2023).
52. Anton Yakovenko, serviceman, video editor at XSPORT TV (killed in Vuhledar, Donetsk oblast, in February 2024).
53. Volodymyr Petrenko, serviceman, former editor at the Zhytomyr-based media outlet Polissya.Today (killed in a Russian mortar strike near Synkivka village, Kupyansk district, Kharkiv oblast, on February 22, 2024).
54. Dmytro Sinchenko, serviceman, contributor for Tyzhden, RFE/RL; reported on the daily life of UAF soldiers on the frontline for Tyzhden (went missing in late August 2023; his death was reported as late as March 8, 2024).
55. Petro Tsurukin, serviceman, TV host, editor; was the chief editor of the STB's project "One for All" and the host for KYIV LIVE (killed in action during the counteroffensive near Mala Tokmachka, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on June 9, 2023; his death was reported in 2024).
56. Mykola Oranskyi, serviceman, former Hromadske TV studio engineer (killed in action near Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on March 22, 2024).
57. Oleh Shemchuk, serviceman, investigator (went missing in action near Bakhmut in September 2022; declared dead on April 3, 2024).
58. Alla Pushkarchuk, servicewoman, former Tyzhden journalist (killed in a Russian shelling strike in Donetsk oblast on April 25, 2024).
59. Andriy Topchiy, Fakty journalist, serviceman, combat medic (killed in action near Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia oblast, on April 20, 2024).
60. Yuriy Siliuk, serviceman, cameraman from Lutsk (killed in action near Arkhanhelske, Pokrovsk district, Donetak oblast, on April 26, 2024).
61. Oleksandr Mashlay, serviceman, former chief editor for the socio-political newspaper and later magazine Pravyi Postup (killed in action near Avdiyivka on May 7, 2024).
62. Iryna Tsybukh, paramedic at the medic battalion Hospitallers, former regional broadcasting department manager at Suspilne, editor and journalist with Hromadske Radio (killed in action in Kharkiv oblast on May 29, 2024).
63. Arsen Fedosenko, UAF captain, photographer with the Media Center of the UAF Strategic Communications Department (killed in action after being gravely wounded by a KAB in Kharkiv oblast on June 10, 2024).
64. Volodymyr Chernyshov, Kropyvnytskyi-born serviceman, former cameraman for the local news outlet CBN (killed in action near Novoselivka, Porkovsk district, Donetsk oblast, on August 4, 2024).
65. Oleksiy Sapuha, serviceman, bird photographer from Mykolaiv (killed in action in Donetsk oblast on July 30, 2024).
66. Bohdan Zatula, serviceman, Novyny.LIVE correspondent (killed in a Russian shelling strike in Dnipropetrovska oblast on August 26, 2024).
67. Pavlo Parkhomenko, serviceman, Pryamyi TV cameraman (killed near Kreminna, Luhansk oblast, on September 5, 2024).
68. Ihor Zakharov, serviceman, cameraman for Ukraina TV and 1+1 (went missing in action near the Sriblyanske Forestry or Yampil, on the border between Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts, on August 1, 2023; his death was confirmed in September 2024).
69. Stanislav Zhytnytskyi, serviceman, producer at STB and Novyi Kanal (killed in action in September 2024).
70. Oleksiy Chernyshev, serviceman, photographer; worked with UNIAN, Ukrainski Novyny, Censor.Net, Reuters, and AFP before 2022 (went missing on March 13, 2022; found dead along with Maksym Levin in Huta Mezhyirska, Kyiv oblast, on April 1, 2022).
71. Oleksiy Andreyev, Mariupol-born cameraman, serviceman, worked at the local TV channels TB7 and Sigma, as well as at the Azovstal plant press center, since the 2000's (went missing in action in Donetsk oblast on November 29, 2023; his body was brought back as part of a recent swap and his identity was confirmed via DNA testing; he was buried in Chernivtsi on November 2, 2024).
72. Andriy Buchak, Luhansk-born journalist, serviceman since 2014, worked at the Luhansk newspaper Kuryer in the 2000's (went missing in action near Vodyane, Donetsk oblast, on August 13, 2024; his death was announced by his wife Olena on November 24, 2024).
73. Oleh Sarelo, video editor for Relani Istoriyi, serviceman with the mechanized brigade No. 72 (death reported on December 9, 2024).
74. Anton Vovk, score editor at Starlight Media's MasterChef prior to the full-scale invasion (killed in action on December 28, 2024).
75. Ruslan Hanushchak, military photographer and cameraman from Ivano-Frankivsk, serviceman with the UAG mechanized brigade No. 92 (death reported in January 2025).
76. Yaroslav Shapochka, serviceman, former Fakty journalist (went missing in action in Donetsk oblast in March 2023; death reported on February 10, 2025).
77. Yuriy Kirpik, project producer at Starlight Media (death repoerted by his colleague, Starlight Media executive producer Oleksandr Bykov on March 13, 2025).
78. Arthur Shybalov, serviceman, former cameraman and video editor at Poltava-based TV channel PTV UA (killed in action in Russia's Kursk region on March 13, 2025).
79. Kyrylo Polikevych, serviceman, Suspilne Dnipro videographer (killed in action near Preobrazhenka, Pokrovsk district, Donetsk oblast, on March 16, 2025).
80. Dmytro Bendikov, serviceman, TSN.ua website editor (killed in action in the East of Ukraine on March 18, 2025).
81. Volodymyr Kotsur, serviceman, sports reporter, contributor to Sports Express Ukraine, Ukrainskyi Futbol, and Komanda; enlisted in the UAF following Russia's full-scale invasion (death reported on April 29, 2025).
82. Vyacheslav Kobrzhytskyi, serviceman, motorsports commentator with Setanta (killed in Donetsk oblast; death reported on May 1, 2025).
    
83. Vasyl Dovbush, serviceman, former media professional at BC Lux and Channel 24 (killed in action near Mohrytsia, Sumy oblast, on May 6, 2025).
84. Bohdan Lysenko, serviceman, journalist whose reporting included dozens of articles in both national and regional media outlets such as Fakty, KP v Ukraini, Subota, Ekho (killed in action in Zaporizhzhia oblast on April 13, 2025).

The Institute of Mass Information (IMI) is a Ukrainian non-governmental media organization that has been operating since 1996. The IMI defends the rights of journalists, analyzes the media field and covers media-related events, fights propaganda and disinformation and has been providing media outlets with safety gear for trips to the combat zone since the start of the Russo–Ukrainian war in 2014.

The IMI carries out Ukraine's only freedom of speech monitoring and keeps a list of high quality and sustainable online media outlets, documents Russia's crimes against the media committed in the course of the war on Ukraine. The IMI has representatives in 20 oblasts of Ukraine and a network of "Mediabaza" hubs to provide journalists with continuous support. The IMI's partners include Reporters Without Borders and Freedom House; the organization is a member of the International Organization for the Protection of Freedom of Expression (IFEX).