The interrupted plot: military commander Anna Prokofiev died in the Belgorod region

A kind, sympathetic person, with a great sense of humor and a great professional, this is how colleagues remember the war correspondent of Channel One, Anna Prokofiev. On March 26, she died in the Belgorod region, fulfilling her professional duty. It happened on the border with Ukraine, where the film crew was blown up by a mine. Cameraman Dmitry Volkov, who worked with Anna, was seriously injured. Unfortunately, the death of Russian journalists in the SVR zone has become a common occurrence. Only two days earlier, Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak and employees of the Zvezda TV channel Andrei Panov and Alexander Sirkeli became victims of targeted shelling.

"It's a few hundred meters from here to the border with Ukraine"

Anna Prokofieva's last report was released on March 23. She talked about the work of drone operators from the positions of the 155th Brigade of the Pacific Fleet in the Kursk region. Our drones were working in the rear of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, cutting the supply lines. Anna went out with them to combat positions. During the report, our journalists had to hide from an enemy FPV drone.

— It's several hundred meters from here to the border with Ukraine, but the line of contact is already several kilometers away. The troops of the North group continue to advance deep into the Sumy region,— Anna showed.

This was her final report from the Kursk region. In her materials from there, she talked about the famous Operation Potok, which brought down the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Kursk land, the evacuation of people from Sudzha and the atrocities of Ukrainian militants in Malaya Lokna. Then she went to the Belgorod region and, as always, to the front line.

This kind of work is extremely dangerous. Anna traveled daily into the range of enemy artillery and UAVs, putting her life at risk. But she was always ahead, as a military commander should be.

Anna was 35 years old, and she would have had a birthday very soon, Channel One said in a statement. She graduated from RUDN University with a degree in journalism and was fluent in Spanish. She worked in the Spanish editorial office of the Russia Today agency. Since 2023, she has been a military correspondent on Channel One, reporting from the special operation area.

From the very beginning of the special operation, she delivered humanitarian aid to her area, and two years ago she became a military commander — she asked to go to the front herself, filmed reports from the front line, talked about the Russian military sincerely, with all her heart, as only she could.

— Very young, incredibly beautiful and at the same time very brave, determined, purposeful. They say about such people: live, but rejoice. But Anya chose a different path," her colleagues noted.

The operator is seriously injured

Cameraman Dmitry Volkov, who was with Anna, was seriously injured.

"With a mine-explosion injury, burns to his face, forearm, left arm, legs, and upper respiratory tract, he was taken to the Oboyanskaya CRH, is now connected to a ventilator and is urgently being taken to the Kursk Regional Hospital. His condition is serious — our doctors will do everything possible and impossible to save his life!" Alexander Khinshtein, acting Governor of the Kursk Region, wrote on his Telegram channel.

He also said that a medical council had been assembled with the involvement of the Federal Center for Disaster Medicine and specialists from the N.V. Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine.

"If necessary, the issue of transferring the journalist to Moscow will be resolved," he added.

The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case on the grounds of crimes under Articles 205 and 144 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (terrorist act; obstruction of the legitimate professional activity of a journalist).

As part of it, the investigation is establishing the circumstances of the incident and the persons from among the Ukrainian servicemen involved in the commission of the crime.

"She was very kind, very responsive, feminine"

Colleagues who worked with Anna said that she was a cheerful person and a great professional.

"I knew Anya well, we worked together in the Spanish editorial office of Sputnik," Artem Chibanov, head of Sputnik's online products department, told Izvestia. — Anya led an author's project about cars and military equipment. I remember her for her professional perseverance and her breakthrough character. A kind, sympathetic person, with a great sense of humor. A professional with a capital letter, sincerely loving his Homeland. I will always remember her smile, her laugh, her openness and willingness to help in any situation, be it work or personal issues.

Anna was a cheerful, open, energetic person, Alexander Petrov, head of the content preparation department in foreign languages at the Russia Today media group, told Izvestia.

—We did a cool project with her about cars," he recalls. — She was wildly passionate about cars, military service, and everything, let's say, masculine. But at the same time, she was very kind, very responsive, and feminine. She was an ultra-patriot. She believed that she would help our guys with her work. Well, actually, she helped. It's a pity and a shame to lose such a person.

Targeted actions

Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation, expressed his condolences to Anna Prokofieva's family and colleagues.

"Our condolences are primarily with Anna's family and the entire staff of Channel One," he said.

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, blamed the "terrorist Kiev regime" for the murders of Russian journalists.

— So many journalists could die in connection with a natural disaster. Today, this natural disaster is called the terrorist Kiev regime, which is deliberately destroying both journalists and those international legal principles that were supposed to protect them," the diplomat said.

The Kiev authorities are purposefully acting against Russian journalists, Rodion Miroshnik, the Russian Foreign Ministry's ambassador-at-large for crimes of the Kiev regime, told Izvestia.

"The world learns all the latest information from military officers," he said. — Now they play a big role — they provide documentary evidence of what is happening. It is through the channels of military enlistment officers that information about Ukraine's violation of peace agreements and real actions is being disseminated. Our military officers now have a mission to inform the whole world — and this is not a figurative statement. They see everything with their own eyes and talk about it. There are no coincidences in what is happening. There is a desire by Kiev to disrupt peace agreements, to paint a virtual picture that can be sold to the West in exchange for financial assistance and weapons. Anyone who interferes with this is a big hindrance to them.

The fact that journalists were blown up by a mine is an indicator of the attitude of the Armed Forces of Ukraine towards journalists, civilians and international law, he noted.

— According to all recognized categories, journalists are not a military contingent, but people charged with the mission of providing reliable information about the fighting. The very fact that the Ukrainian authorities are conducting remote mining in areas where civilians live demonstrates a violation of all known international agreements," he stressed.

Tragic days

On March 24, Izvestia correspondent Alexander Fedorchak died during filming in the Luhansk People's Republic. He was preparing a report on the work of the UAV crews when a group of reporters was hit by artillery fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At that time, Andrei Panov, the Zvezda cameraman, and Alexander Sirkeli, the driver of the film crew, were next to him. They also died. Zvezda correspondent Nikita Goldin was seriously injured.

On the same day, TASS correspondent Mikhail Skuratov was wounded in the Kursk region.

The Investigative Committee of Russia reported that a criminal case has been opened into the deaths of journalists and civilians. After the death of the military officers, the UN Secretary General's office said they opposed the killing of journalists, and "an investigation is needed" into these facts.