Russian War Correspondent Ivan Zuyev Killed by Ukrainian Drone, Putin Praised his Work
Russian war correspondent Ivan Zuyev, stationed in the Zaporizhzhia region of southern Ukraine, was killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on October 16. Zuyev's colleague, Voitkevich, was seriously injured in the attack and was taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Zuyev was working for the Kremlin-affiliated news agency RIA Novosti. RIA Novosti reported the death of its employee Ivan Zuyev "while on editorial duty" in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast on Thursday. Zuyev died on the spot. The Russian-appointed head of the oblast, Yevhen Balitsky, also confirmed the death.
Zuyev was a Russian correspondent deployed on the front lines of the information war against Ukraine. He first traveled to Donbas as a correspondent in July 2014. After the full invasion began in 2022, he covered the sieges of Volnovakha, Sartana, and the siege of Mariupol for the Russian state-run newspaper Sputnik Blizhnee Zarubezhye.
Zuyev received numerous awards for his reporting, and in March 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised his work. Zuyev's colleague, Voitkevich, who was injured in the drone strike, had been filming Russian propaganda for years. He was awarded the Order of Merit to the Fatherland medal.
The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed condolences over Zuyev's death and wished Voitkevich a speedy recovery. Rights groups say the Ukrainian military continues to target Russian journalists.
Earlier, on October 3, 2025, French photojournalist Antoine Lalican was killed while on assignment near the front lines in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. At least 18 journalists have been killed in the war zone since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. On 9 May 2023, AFP video journalist Arman Soldin was killed in a rocket attack. On 22 July 2023, Russian journalist Rostislav Zhuravlev, working for Sputnik, was killed in a cluster munitions explosion. His Ukrainian colleague George Ivanchenko was also injured in the attack.
