Russian journalist shot in Ukraine
In the southeast Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Rodion Severyanov, a correspondent for the Russian broadcaster Izvestiya TV, was shot in the leg and seriously wounded, according to multiple reports by his outlet and video from Izvestiya TV press representative Olga Gezenko, who spoke with CPJ.
During his reporting on Russian forces and their pro-Russian proxies in Ukraine, Severyanov was shot when he interrupted his reporting to assist the injured soldier, according to those sources.
According to Severyanov, in an interview with his outlet, he believed he had been shot by a Ukrainian sniper.
The television channel Izvestiya TV is operated by the Russian private media holding company National Media Group and is affiliated with the newspaper Izvestiya; the station's reporters embedded with Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine, and its reporting is generally supportive of the Russian government.
“I was shot by a Ukrainian sniper. It was impossible not to notice the inscription ‘Press’ on my bulletproof vest, so he knew exactly who he was shooting at,” Severyanov said in the interview. Andrey Perfilyev, a camera operator with Izvestiya TV who was present at the scene, has also told the outlet that he believes the sniper aimed his gun at the journalist.
Upon being shot, Russian fighters brought Severyanov to a mobile hospital, and then to a hospital within the separatist-controlled city of Novoazovsk, according to reports and Gezenko.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been covered by Severyanov since it began late February, according to Gezenko, who described it as an "operation", the official designation for the conflict.
Aleksandr Bastrykin, head of the Russian Investigative Committee, has ordered authorities to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attack and identify those responsible. The head of the Russian Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, Valery Fadeyev, told Izvestiya that the attack constituted an 'obvious violation of civilian rights'.
