A fifth journalist has been killed covering Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Oksana Baulina, who was on assignment for Russian news site The Insider, was killed March 23 in Kyiv. The Insider reported that she was killed in the rocket strike on a shopping mall, according to her employer.
While Russia has denied it has been targeting civilians, its shells have been hitting schools, hospitals, homes and apartment buildings.
“This is another demonstration of the cruelty of Russia’s war on Ukraine, which has already claimed the lives of at least four other journalists," said the Committee to Protect Journalists' Gulnoza Said, Europe and Central Asia program coordinator. "Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do everything in their power to ensure the safety of journalists and all other civilians, and to thoroughly investigate attacks on members of the press.”
CPJ said that since Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law March 4 that punishes journalists' use of the terms "war" and "invasion" with up to 15 years in prison, hundreds of Russian journalists have left the country, with "no guarantee of safe refuge."
Before joining the news outlet, Baulina had worked for opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, but had to leave after Russia declared it an extremist organization. "We will continue to cover the war in Ukraine, including such Russian war crimes as indiscriminate shelling of residential areas which result in the deaths of civilians and journalists," the publication said.
Also killed in the conflict have been Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova, both working for Fox News; documentary filmmaker Brent Renaud; and Ukrainian camera operator Yevhenii Sakun. ■
