Ukraine: journalist Bohdan Bitik killed
Bitik is the 13th media worker killed in Ukraine since Russia’s invasion into the country.
The NUJ has joined the International and European federations of journalists in calling for an end to the targeting of journalists by Russian forces in Ukraine. The call follows the death of Bohdan Bitik killed on 26 April in Kherson.
Bitik and journalist Corrado Zunino were shot at while reporting near the Antonivskiy Bridge on the outskirts of the city. Zunino suffered a shoulder injury despite wearing a bulletproof ‘press’ vest and it is unclear whether Bitik was wearing one.
Corrado Zunino told Italian newspaper La Repubblica where both men worked. that he had been wounded in his right shoulder, shaved by the bullet that hit my great friend Bohdan."
He said:
“We passed three checkpoints. Bohdan talked to the Ukrainian military and they let us pass without problems. It wasn't a fighting zone. Then we got hit. I saw Bohdan on the ground. He wasn’t moving. I crawled until I got out of the line of fire. I ran until I came across a civilian’s car. I was covered in blood. I got myself taken to the hospital in Kherson."
Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU), said:
"The murder of Ukrainian journalist Bohdan Bitik and the injury of Italian journalist Corrado Zunino are yet another war crime by the Russians. They are also evidence of the danger inherent to our profession.
“The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine thanks the brave Italian journalists who are working on the front line. We appeal to the Italian journalists' trade union and La Repubblica to guarantee the protection of the rights of the Ukrainian fixer as a member of the Italian media team."