Agence France-Presse’s video coordinator in Ukraine, Arman Soldin, was killed Tuesday afternoon in a Grad rocket attack in eastern Ukraine, according to AFP journalists accompanying him. . The bombing took place around 4:30 p.m. local time (1:30 p.m. GMT) in the vicinity of Chassiv Iar, a Ukrainian town near Bakhmout, which is targeted daily by Russian forces.
Arman Soldin, 32, was with four colleagues who are all unharmed. They were with Ukrainian soldiers when they were taken under the salvo of rockets. Arman’s family has been notified.
A unanimous tribute to AFP
AFP journalists travel regularly to this area to report on clashes in the region, the epicenter of fighting in Ukraine for several months. “The Agency as a whole has collapsed,” said Fabrice Fries, CEO of AFP. “His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists on a daily basis when covering the conflict in Ukraine,” he added.
Phil Chetwynd, AFP news director, hailed the memory of a “brave, creative and tenacious” journalist. “Arman’s brilliant work summed up everything that makes us proud of AFP journalism in Ukraine,” he added.
Video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022
An experienced image reporter previously stationed in London, Arman Soldin had been the video coordinator in Ukraine since September 2022 and traveled very regularly to the front lines. He was also part of the AFP team that covered the very first days of the Russian invasion. “Arman was enthusiastic, energetic, courageous. He was a real field reporter, always ready to go, even to the most difficult areas,” said AFP Europe director Christine Buhagiar. “He was overflowing with energy, that’s even how he defined himself on the networks. Totally devoted to his job as a journalist,” she said.
Recruited in Rome in 2015 as an intern before joining the London office the same year, Arman, of French nationality and of Bosnian origin, was born in Sarajevo. He is at least the 11th reporter, fixer or driver of journalists to have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, according to a count by specialized NGOs RSF and CPJ.