Bogdan Bitik was killed because the Italian reporter he was working with, La Repubblica’s Corrado Zunino, was injured.
A Ukrainian journalist was killed on Wednesday as he travelled to town of Kherson along with his Italian colleague.
Bogdan Bitik, who was deciphering for La Repubblica reporter Corrado Zunino, was shot “almost definitely by Russian snipers”, the Italian newspaper reported.
Zunino was shot within the shoulder and is now receiving medical therapy.
He instructed La Repubblica from a hospital mattress that they’d handed three Ukrainian checkpoints once they had been all of the sudden hit.
“I heard a hiss, and I noticed Bogdan on the bottom,” Zunino mentioned.
“He wasn’t shifting. I crawled out of the road of fireplace. I ran till I handed a civilian automobile. I used to be filled with blood. I needed to be taken to Kherson Hospital.”
He added that he had been attempting to name Bitik, who he described as “a terrific buddy”, however obtained no reply.
“It’s excruciating,” he mentioned.
Each males had been sporting press vests once they had been attacked close to the destroyed Antonivskyi Bridge, in line with Zunino.
At the least 15 media employees and journalists have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, in line with the Committee to Defend Journalists.
Sergiy Tomilenko, head of the Nationwide Union of Journalists of Ukraine, mentioned the assault was a “new struggle crime of the Russians” as he referred to as for Italian teams and newspapers comparable to La Repubblica to do extra to guard Ukrainian reporters.
This homicide of the Ukrainian journalist Bogdan Bitik and wounding of @corzunino is a brand new struggle crime of the Russians. On the similar time, we attraction to the Italian Unions and to @repubblica with a name to ensure the safety of the rights of the Ukrainian fixer @EFJEUROPE pic.twitter.com/N2mjtfWYJI
— Sergiy Tomilenko (@Stommedia) April 27, 2023
“I’m wonderful. However I’m unhappy to have misplaced a buddy,” Zunino mentioned in an interview on the Breakfast Membership present at Radio Capital.
“I went on 5 missions with Bogdan. I’ve recognized him since I first arrived in Ukraine. He had returned to Ukraine from Indonesia, the place he has a spouse and a son. I’ve simply spoken to his spouse. They’re all extraordinary, type and beneficiant individuals”.
It has not but been doable to get well Bitik’s physique, La Repubblica reported.
Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson in November 2022 after town had been occupied within the early weeks of the struggle.
Since then, Russian forces, which had retreated throughout the Dnipro River, have bombarded the area with common artillery strikes, missiles, drone assaults and snipers.
In December 2022, two Italian reporters, Claudio Locatelli and Niccolò Celesti, accompanied by their interpreter, got here below assault in a Russian strike within the Kherson area; all of them survived however Locatelli was injured.
