UPDATE - RIA Novosti War Correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev Killed In Ukrainian Shelling

MELITOPOL (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd July, 2023) RIA Novosti war correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed in the Ukrainian shelling in combat zone, an agency correspondent reported Saturday.

RIA Novosti photojournalist Konstantin Mikhalchevsky was injured in the shelling.

The shelling took place near the village of Pyatykhatky, where a group of journalists came under fire. According to preliminary data, an Izvestia journalist was also wounded.

Yevgeny Balitsky, the acting governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, said that Zhuravlev was killed when Ukrainians shelled civilian transport, and expressed his condolences to the war correspondent's family.

"Today, RIA Novosti military correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev was killed as a result of the shelling of a civilian car that was en route from the city of Vasylivka, Zaporizhzhia region to the village of Volodymyrivka," Balitsky said on Telegram.

Additionally, photojournalist Mikhalchevsky has sustained injuries of different severity and is receiving medical assistance at a hospital in Melitopol, the official said.

Mikhalchevsky will be transported to Crimea for treatment if his conditions allows, Oleg Kryuchkov, a spokesman for Crimean leader Sergey Aksenov, said on Saturday. Mikhalchevsky sustained an exit wound of lower extremities, according to preliminary data.

Dmitry Kiselev, the director general of Rossiya Segodnya, called Zhuravlev an "experienced professional" and said that the war correspondent was always first to deliver accurate and important data from dangerous areas.

The head of the Russian Union of Journalists, Vladimir Solovyov, has expressed condolences to the family and colleagues of the deceased and said that the union was ready to offer necessary assistance.

"The work of a war correspondent is one of the most dangerous in the world, one of the most dangerous fields of journalism. Sometimes we all lose our friends. I express my deepest condolences to the colleagues, family, and loved ones on behalf of the Russian Union of Journalists. I hope that the injured colleague will recover shortly," Solovyov said.

Margarita Simonyan, the editor-in-chief of the RT broadcaster and Rossiya Segodnya international media group, commented on the news by saying that everyone will be remembered and nothing will be forgotten.

"Our war correspondent, Rostislav Zhuravlev, is dead. Other guys are wounded. Cluster munitions. We'll remember everyone and remember everything," Simonyan wrote on Telegram.

Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry said that Zhuravlev died during evacuation from injuries caused by cluster submunition explosion and four journalists received wounds of varying degrees of severity.

RIA Novosti is part of the Rossiya Segodnya international media group.