“AFP Video Journalist Arman Soldin Killed in Rocket Attack in Eastern Ukraine”

The attack took place around 4:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. Belgian time) near Chasiv Yar, a town near Bachmut, the well-known hot-fought city in eastern Ukraine.

Soldin, 32, was accompanied by four colleagues, all of whom were unharmed. They were out with Ukrainian soldiers when they were surprised by rocket attacks.

Reactions poured in on social media from journalists who knew and worked with him. “My friend, my colleague. I was in contact with him every day here in the Donbas,” writes Belgian freelance journalist Arnaud De Decker, who wrote for HLN about the merciless life on the frontline in Ukraine. “Broken. I have no words,” he says.

A fellow AFP reporter called Soldin “the most professional, the most human, the calmest, the happiest friend”.

“The entire press agency is devastated by the loss of Arman,” said AFP chairman Fabrice Fries, who praised Arman’s dedication and “brilliant” work. “His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers journalists face every day as they cover the conflict in Ukraine.” Phil Chetwynd, Global News Director at AFP, called Soldin a “courageous, creative and persistent” journalist.

Soldin was an accomplished journalist formerly living in London. He was the video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022 and was also part of the AFP team covering the very first days of the Russian invasion.

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to Soldin’s “courage” on Tuesday night. “One of our compatriots, AFP journalist Arman Soldin, has been killed in Ukraine. With courage, from the first hours of the conflict, he was at the front to present the facts. To inform us, the president said via Twitter.

According to Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists, six journalists were killed in Ukraine last year. For Soldin, one other reporter was killed this year while working in the country attacked by Russia. Drivers and so-called fixers of media teams reporting on the war in Ukraine also died. In total, there are at least 11 victims.