The car of the dead Izvestia military correspondent Martemyanov was evacuated from the highway in Horlivka

The car of the dead Izvestiya correspondent Alexander Martemyanov was evacuated from the highway in Horlivka in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) on January 5.

His mascots were found in the car - a toy cat in an armored vest and a goose.

A friend and colleague of Martemyanov, photojournalist Dmitry Yagodkin, helped in the evacuation. He said that shortly before the tragedy spoke with Alexander and intended to meet with him to hand over a new wheel. At some point Dmitry was unable to reach his friend, he was later informed of his death.

"Sasha will be remembered to me as a person with a capital letter. He is a professional of his work: he worked both day and night," he told Izvestia, holding back tears.

Illegal target: Moscow will raise the topic of the murder of Russian journalists at the UN Security Council

Izvestiya military correspondent Alexander Martemyanov killed, four representatives of other media outlets wounded after AFU drone attack on January 4

Izvestia correspondent Alexander Martemyanov was killed on January 4 when a Ukrainian army drone hit a car on the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway. He died of his wounds. As specified in the Ministry of the Russian Federation, the correspondents of "RIA Novosti" Maxim Romanenko and Mikhail Kevkhiev, editor of "Bloknot Donetsk" Svetlana Larina and military correspondent Izabella Liberman also received shrapnel wounds.

A criminal case was opened under Articles 105, 167 of the Russian Criminal Code ("Murder and attempted murder of two or more persons", "Intentional damage to property").

The head of the DNR Denis Pushilin noted that Martemyanov's materials about Donbass "were brave and objective", the military correspondent also provided assistance to the residents of the republic. Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemzin added that the journalist's life was dedicated to the search for truth. Viktor Petrenko, chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists (RUJR) in the DNR, said that the deceased war correspondent should be buried in the Alley of Heroes in Donetsk.

Alexander Martemyanov worked as a correspondent for Izvestia since 2014. In 2023, he was wounded during shelling by the AFU in Donetsk, but returned to work after his recovery. Martemyanov was awarded the medal "For Bravery" and the insignia "For Merit to the Donetsk People's Republic" of the III degree.