French reporter killed by rocket fire in Ukraine

Journalists around the world are mourning and paying tribute to a French reporter who was killed by a rocket strike while in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.

Arman Soldin, a video coordinator for the Agence France-Presse (AFP) outlet, was killed by a rocket attack near the city of Bakhmut, the deadliest battleground in the war between Ukraine and Russia.

Soldin was with a team of AFP journalists on the frontline in eastern Ukraine when they came under fire. The other journalists escaped unharmed.

Catherine Colonna, the French minister of Europe and foreign affairs, said Soldin’s death “reminds us of the price of freedom to inform.”

“I bow to his courage for speaking out about the reality of war and offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and colleagues,” Colonna tweeted.

French President Emmanuel Macron also praised Soldin for his “courage” to “establish the facts” in Ukraine.

At least 16 journalists have been killed in Ukraine since 2022, when Russia invaded the country, according to a database from the Committee to Protect Journalists.

In March last year, U.S. documentarian Brent Renaud was killed in the suburbs of Kyiv. He was the first American journalist to die in Ukraine since the war began.

Leaders across the world paid tribute to Soldin, including U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who called him a “talented and courageous journalist,” according to AFP.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shared the Biden administration’s condolences on Twitter.

“Our hearts go out to the family of journalist Arman Soldin, who lost his life today reporting from the front lines of the war in Ukraine, and to Arman’s colleagues at the AFP,” Jean-Pierre wrote.

“Journalism is fundamental to a free society,” she added. “The world is indebted to Arman and to the 10 other reporters and media workers who have lost their lives while shining a light on the horrors of Russia’s invasion.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.