The International Federation of Journalists called for an investigation into Martemyanov's death

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which has its headquarters in Brussels, has called for an independent investigation into the death of Izvestiya correspondent Aleksandr Martemyanov as a result of a Ukrainian drone attack in the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR). This is evidenced by a publication on the organization's website on January 7.

"We call for an independent investigation to establish who is behind the attack and to find out to what extent it was deliberately directed against media workers," said the IFJ and EFJ (European Federation of Journalists).

The organizations reminded that journalists as civilians have the right to protection under any circumstances in the context of armed conflicts in accordance with international humanitarian law.

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

Izvestiya correspondent Alexander Martemyanov was killed on January 4 when a Ukrainian army drone hit his car on the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway. He died of his wounds. A criminal case was opened under Articles 105, 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("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 courageous and objective", the military correspondent also provided assistance to the residents of the republic. The chairman of the Union of Journalists of Russia (SZhR) in the republic, Viktor Petrenko, said that the deceased war correspondent should be buried in the Alley of Heroes in Donetsk.

Russian First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said that the incident would be discussed at the next UN Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Ukraine.

Alexander Martemyanov has worked as a correspondent for Izvestiya since 2014. In 2023, he was wounded during shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donetsk, but returned to work after his recovery. Martemyanov has been awarded the Medal for Bravery and the Badge of Honor "For Merit to the Donetsk People's Republic" of the III degree.