Putin honors journalist killed in Ukrainian drone attack

Russian journalist Semyon Yeryomin, who was killed in a Ukrainian drone attack last week, has been posthumously awarded the Order of Courage, one of the country’s top honors. The award for the late Izvestia war correspondent was announced in a presidential decree published on Monday.   

Yeryomin died in a Ukrainian kamikaze drone attack in Zaporozhye Region, the outlet announced on Friday. His crew had been filming Russian troop positions near the village of Priyutnoye, and had also recently reported on attempts to divert Ukrainian UAV strikes.   

The crew’s vehicle was attacked by a drone while returning from a filming location, eyewitnesses told Izvestia. Yeryomin later died of his injuries.  

He had been reporting in the combat zone since the Ukraine conflict began in February 2022, and had already been awarded the Medal For Merit to the Fatherland II Degree for his work covering the fighting. 

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered his condolences on Saturday and accused Ukrainian forces of deliberately targeting members of the Russian press at the front lines. The tragedy highlights the dangers journalists face in combat zones, Peskov added.  

Several Russian journalists have lost their lives since Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine more than two years ago.  

In November 2023, Boris Maksudov, who worked for Russia 24 TV, died from shrapnel wounds he suffered during a Ukrainian drone attack in Zaporozhye Region. RIA Novosti’s Rostislav Zhuravlev, Tavria TV’s Oleg Klokov, and RuBaltic’s Aleksey Ilyashevich have also all been killed during the hostilities.