"As long as we remember, he is a hero": in Donetsk farewelled to Alexander Martemyanov
Fearlessness, courage, professionalism and the ability to respond to human misfortune were the qualities most often recalled by people who came to bid farewell to the fallen Izvestiya correspondent Alexander Martemyanov. The ceremony took place on January 8 at the Donetsk Sea cemetery. Alexander had been covering the events in Donbass since 2014. He immediately decided that he could not stay on the sidelines and had to tell the truth about what was happening. The journalist was killed when a Ukrainian FPV drone hit the car in which he was traveling on the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway. The deceased Izvestiya correspondent was posthumously awarded the Order of the Donetsk People's Republic.
"He was known and appreciated."
The ceremony of farewell to Alexander Martemyanov took place on January 8 at the cemetery "Donetsk Sea", where the heroes of the fighting in Donbass are buried. To say goodbye to Alexander came his family, friends, colleagues and ordinary residents of Donetsk. Many of them have known Alexander since the beginning of the armed confrontation in the DNR and LNR in 2014.
- This was a person I have known since 2014. I will miss him both as a friend, as a colleague, and as a person to whom I could always turn," said Izvestia correspondent Yevgeniy Bykovsky.
Izvestia's military correspondent Dmitry Astrakhan also actively cooperated with Alexander.
Alexander Martemyanov
- From the very beginning - in 2014 - Sasha got involved in journalistic work, covering the events in Donbass, he was known and appreciated by many people," he said.
Alexander Gritsenko, a military cameraman and correspondent in the DNR, recalled the energy that always emanated from Alexander Martemyanov.
- This man worked for three people, was everywhere at once. And if you didn't have time to go somewhere, he never said, "I won't give you the material." Alexander shared it with everyone. The point was that the more material that came out, the sooner we would see our victory. And he was brave, that's not the word. Sometimes I had to talk him out of many ventures, because he was always looking for a way to get into the thick of things. That was his main goal - to get as much material as possible so that the whole world could see what was happening in our republic," Gritsenko shared his memories.
On January 8, Alexander Martemyanov was posthumously awarded the Order of the DNR. The award was presented to the parents of the deceased by the chairman of the People's Council of the republic, Konstantin Kuzmin.
- He will be missed, but he will always be alive for us. As long as we remember, he will live forever, he is a hero, - emphasized Kuzmin.
He noted that Alexander Martemyanov was a true hero and patriot of Russia.
- "I've known Alexander since 2015, and it's hard to talk about him in the past tense," Nadezhda Chichirova, a former employee of the DNR Ministry of Information, told Izvestia. - What happened does not fit in my head. He traveled mostly to shell civilian targets. He saw all the pain. And he often traveled not for reporting, but to help people. Including psychological relief and human involvement. And there were even more such trips than reports. Alexander always put people and their emotions first.
"We opened the new year hard."
Journalists remain one of the priority targets for enemy attacks, the Presidential Council on Human Rights (PCHR) told Izvestia. Alexander Martemyanov opened a sad account of 2025, said journalist Alexander Malkevich, a member of the HRC and co-chairman of the coordination council for the integration of new regions under the Russian OP.
- We opened the new, 2025 year in a hard way. Alexander died, many of his colleagues were wounded, concussed," he told Izvestia. - Journalists are one of the priority targets for enemy attacks. We know very well that a helmet and an armored vest with the inscription "Press" is a red rag for the enemy. Because we are witnesses, we see the truth, we tell it. And they can't let that happen.
The car carrying the Russian journalists at the time of the impact
Journalists working for the NWO require protection because they are at risk, added HRC member Kirill Kabanov. He recalled that the council has repeatedly discussed the issue that war correspondents need a special status. For example, to equate them with participants or veterans of combat operations. In addition, according to Kirill Kabanov, journalists working in the NWO zone should receive social support from the state.
- And the lawlessness should be responded to adequately and as toughly as possible," he added.
Since 2014, more than 30 Russian journalists have been killed in Donbass, recalled Vladimir Solovyov, chairman of the Russian Union of Journalists.
However, the list of victims may be much broader, believes Alexander Malkevich.
- On my own initiative, I am keeping a list of colleagues who died in the zone of the NWO from 2022 to 2024. And a separate list of those who died from 2014 to 2022. There are more and more new victims," he emphasized. - In fact, for all this time in Donbass, Novorossiya journalists, bloggers have died more than 30. Or like Daria Dugina and Vladlen Tatarsky - in Moscow, St. Petersburg, but for their position.
The cat is Alexander Martemyanov's partner.
The whole world turns a blind eye to this, added Alexander Malkevich.
- We realize that the so-called world community doesn't give a damn about it. We know that these victims are not taken into account in any UNESCO reports, in any analysis," said the HRC member.
He called it symbolic that Alexander Martemyanov was buried on the Walk of Heroes.
- This is a very strong place. I hope that a separate memorial complex will be created there, so that one can come and honor the memory of our heroes," said Alexander Malkevich. - We should not only remember, but also actively create a museum of the history of the NWO. And maybe even a real museum of modern Russian mass media. Because, except for us, no one will be able to preserve and pass on the memory of our colleagues.
"A journalist's weapon is a video camera and a pen."
The Kiev regime's hunt for journalists began back in 2014, recalled former member of the Ukrainian parliament Volodymyr Oleynik. For example, AFU pilot Nadezhda Savchenko was found guilty by a Russian court of murdering VGTRK journalists Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin in 2014.
Journalist Darya Dugina died at the hands of Ukrainian security services in 2022, and military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in 2023.
- The journalist's weapon is a video camera, a pen and everything to record the event. The Kiev regime realizes that these people shape public opinion. According to the principle of terrorism theory, it is necessary to intimidate those who inform the truth about events. That is why they kill journalists," Vladimir Oleinik told Izvestia.
The actions of the Kiev regime only confirm that Russian journalists work effectively and bring the truth to the people, he emphasizes.
- The Kiev authorities are purposefully trying to terrorize the civilian population and, above all, those who are on the front lines of the media and inform the public," Vladimir Oleinik told Izvestia. - People trust them, I myself enjoy reading many of them. A journalist on the front line conveys even emotions and lets all the events pass through him or her.
At the same time, Kiev's Western patrons at the official level have not reacted in any way to the numerous cases of journalists being killed, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov has said.
- We are dealing with an illegal, overdue criminal terrorist regime, for which there are no norms of international law regarding the protection of freedom of speech and journalists. My condolences to the parents of the young man who had a great future," he said in a conversation with Izvestia. - What is even more regrettable is that no one has reacted from the so-called neutral countries, which could have expressed their reaction. Therefore, in my opinion, we need to spread this information more seriously and actively to foreign countries and insist on their reaction.
Earlier, the head of the DNR Denis Pushilin noted that Martemyanov's materials about Donbass were "brave and objective", the military correspondent provided assistance to the residents of the republic.
Alexander Martemyanov worked as a correspondent of Izvestia since 2014. He came under AFU shelling on February 27, 2022 in the village of Pishchevik.
In 2023, he was wounded during shelling in Donetsk, but soon returned to work. He was awarded the medal "For bravery", the insignia "For services to the Donetsk People's Republic" of the III degree.
