According to Reporters Without Borders, a Ukrainian photojournalist and the soldier who was with him appear to have been ‘coldly killed’ while looking for the lost camera drone in Russian-occupied forests during the early stages of the war in Ukraine.
the remains of journalist Maks Levin and serviceman Oleksiy Chernyshov were discovered in the woods north of the Ukrainian capital on April 1; the press freedom group claimed to have dispatched investigators back there. The group said its team counted 14 bullet holes in the burned hulk of the pair’s car, which remained at the spot.
The organisation said nearby Russian positions had been abandoned, one of which was still booby-trapped, citing the results of its inquiry into the killings. Remains of food rations, cigarette packs, and other litter that appeared to have been abandoned by Russian soldiers were also discovered.
According to Reporters Without Borders, some of Levin and Chernyshov’s belongings were also found, including the soldier’s identification documents, a portion of his bulletproof vest, and the photographer’s helmet.
It added that a bullet was discovered in the ground near Levin’s body by a Ukrainian team using metal detectors. He was ‘probably killed with one, perhaps two bullets fired at close range when he was already on the ground,’ the gang said, in response to the discovery.
It continued that a gasoline jerrycan was also discovered nearby where Chernyshov’s charred body was discovered.
The discoveries, according to Reporters Without Borders, ‘suggest that the two men were probably ruthlessly executed.’
On March 13, Levin and Chernyshov were last heard from. Their last known location was in some woods north of Kiev, according to a GPS tracker in their car, the group claimed.
The group made the assumption that Levin and Chernyshov may have been killed while searching for Levin’s drone.
It claimed that on March 10, Levin lost his drone in the region and was unable to find it because he had come under Russian fire. Photojournalists now frequently use drones to capture airborne images and videos.
According to Reporters Without Borders, Levin occasionally provided Ukrainian soldiers with information acquired from his drone, including that regarding Russian positions.
However, it added, ‘the usage of his drone was first and foremost a journalistic enterprise, verified by his entourage and demonstrated by the pictures provided to the media since the beginning of the Russian assault.
The group claimed to have given Ukrainian investigators the evidence they had gathered as well as numerous images.
The group claimed it was unable to determine if the men’s remains had undergone autopsies, a process it deemed crucial for the inquiry into their murders.
Additionally, it urged Ukrainian army and intelligence institutions to provide any information they may have regarding Russian units that were present during Moscow’s abortive attack on Kyiv with investigators.
Separately, Russian authorities claimed that a drone strike was to blame for a fire that broke out at an oil refinery in southwest Russia on Wednesday.
At the Novoshakhtinsk plant in the Rostov-on-Don region, the fire consumed a piece of machinery. Authorities reported that the fire was promptly put out by dozens of firefighters, and nobody was wounded.
In a statement, the factory claimed that an attack by two drones started the fire and labelled it a ‘terrorist’ act. State news outlet Tass stated, without providing further information, that the fire was started when one of two Ukrainian drones that were flying over the plant collided with a heat exchanger.
Two drone fragments were discovered on the plant’s property, according to Vasily Golubev, the regional governor.
The strike has not been confirmed by Ukrainian authorities.
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