‘Energetic and brave’ French journalist, 32, killed in Ukraine as Macron leads tributes

Arman Soldin was part of a team of journalists who came under fire west of Bakhmut
An undated photo of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin
REUTERS
Tom Davidson10 May 2023

Emmanuel Macron has led the tributes to a French journalist killed while reporting on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine.

Arman Soldin, who worked for AFP news agency, died on Tuesday after being hit by rocket fire west of Bakhmut.

The 32-year-old was part of a team of journalists who came under fire at roughly 4.30pm local time.

The French president paid tribute to Soldin’s work on the frontlines of the war.

“We share the pain of his loved ones and his colleagues,” he wrote in a tweet.

"His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine," said AFP chairman Fabrice Fries.

Soldin was born in Sarajevo, now the capital of Bosnia, and a French citizen, according to AFP. He arrived in Ukraine to cover the war the day after the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, and had traveled regularly to the front lines in recent months.

AFP said it was “devastated" at Soldin's death and that “all of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones."

In May 2022, French journalist Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff, who was working in Ukraine for BFM-TV, was killed near Severodonetsk in the east.

At least 10 media workers have been killed while covering the war in Ukraine, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists.

RSF Director Christophe Deloire praised the daily courage of those covering the war and called Soldin's death “a tragedy of all those who defend the independence and reliability of information."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in a speech Tuesday night in Washington, expressed condolences to Soldin's family and loved ones.

“Countless journalists are working to expose and report on the truth in extremely dangerous settings," Blinken said. “Today, we were devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in