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War in Ukraine: the dramatic death of an AFP journalist at the front

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AFP’s video coordinator in Ukraine, journalist Arman Soldin, died on Tuesday in a rocket attack Grad near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, the agency’s journalists who accompanied him said.

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Soldin was the video coordinator of AFP (the French news agency) in Ukraine. During a Grad rocket attack near Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, the journalist was fatally shot.

The shelling took place in the afternoon local time (at 10:30 in Argentina), on the outskirts of that town near Bakhmut, which is the target of daily fire from Russian forces.

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Soldin, 32, was with four colleagues who escaped the attack unscathed.  Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP via AP

Soldin, 32, was with four colleagues who escaped the attack unscathed. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP via AP

Soldino, 32 years old, was with four colleagues, who escaped the attack unscathed. The team was with the Ukrainian Army when it was hit by Grad rockets.

“The agency as a whole is shocked,” said the AFP president, Fabrice Fries.

Arman’s death “is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers journalists covering the conflict in Ukraine face on a daily basis,” he added.

AFP director of information Phil Chetwynd highlighted the work of a reporter “brave, creative and tenacious”.

“Arman’s brilliant work sums up everything that makes us proud of AFP’s journalism in Ukraine,” he added.

Armand Soldin, an experienced journalist cameraman, who was a correspondent in London, was a video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022 and regularly went to the front line.

Arman Soldin was an expert photojournalist.  Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP

Arman Soldin was an expert photojournalist. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff / AFP

He was also part of the AFP team covering the early days of the Russian invasion.

“Arman was enthusiastic, energetic, courageous. He was a true reporter, always ready to go, even in the most difficult areas,” said Christine Buhagiar, AFP Europe region director.

“He was brimming with energy, and that’s how he defined himself on the networks. He had total devotion to his work as a journalist,” she said.

Soldin touring a Ukrainian city after a bombing raid, March 3.  Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP

Soldin touring a Ukrainian city after a bombing raid, March 3. Photo: Aris Messinis/AFP

Armand Soldin, of French nationality and born in Sarajevo (Bosnia), joined AFP in 2015 in Rome and was assigned to London in the same year.

Eleventh Press Man Down

He is the eleventh reporter, guide or driver of journalists killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, according to a report by specialized NGOs RSF and CPJ.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed the journalist’s “courage” and said he shared “the pain of his relatives and all his colleagues”.

Arman Soldin is the eleventh reporter, guide or driver of journalists killed in Ukraine.  Photo: Arman Soldin/AFP

Arman Soldin is the eleventh reporter, guide or driver of journalists killed in Ukraine. Photo: Arman Soldin/AFP

“A journalist from Agence France-Presse, one of our compatriots, Arman Soldin, died in Ukraine. Full of courage, from the very first hours of the conflict he was on the front line to show the facts. To inform us,” Macron wrote on Twitter . .

His “tragic death” while “regarding the war in Ukraine reminds us of the courage of all journalists who undertake to inform us at the risk of their lives,” said French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine expressed his “sincere condolences” Tuesday after Soldin’s death.

“We offer our sincere condolences to his family and colleagues,” the ministry wrote on Twitter, adding that he “dedicated his life to showing the truth to the world.”

THE White House spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre commented that “the world owes Arman a debt” and “the other 10 journalists and media workers who lost their lives” covering the conflict in Ukraine.

Similarly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he was “devastated” by the journalist’s death.

The Russian reaction

Russia was the last to demonstrate.

Fly expressed “sadness” Wednesday and asked for clarification on the circumstances in which AFP journalist Arman Soldin died in a rocket attack in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.

“We need to understand the circumstances of this journalist’s death,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said. “We can only express our sadness” at what happened, he added.

AFP extension

Source: Clarin

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