Armand Solden, AFP video service coordinator in Ukraine, was killed this afternoon in a Grad missile strike in Eastern UkraineThis is reported by the AFP journalists accompanying him.

The explosion took place around 4:30 pm (local and Greek time) on the outskirts of Chasovoy Yar, a Ukrainian community very close to the city of Bakhmut, which is under daily attack from Russian forces.

32-year-old Armand Solden was accompanied by four of his colleagues. None of the others were hurt. The journalists were with the Ukrainian military when they were fired from missiles.

Armaan’s family was informed of his death.

AFP journalists travel regularly to this zone, the months-long epicenter of the conflict in Ukraine.

“The entire AFP is devastated. His death is a terrible reminder of the dangers journalists face every day when covering the war in Ukraine,” said the Agency’s President and CEO, Fabrice Fries.

Phil Chattwin, AFP’s director of news, hailed the “courageous, creative and tenacious” journalist “whose outstanding work epitomizes everything we are proud of in AFP journalism in Ukraine.”

Armand Solden was born in Sarajevo and had French and Bosnian citizenship. He joined AFP in 2015, first as an intern in Rome and then at the agency’s London office. He was part of the team of journalists who covered the first days of the war in Ukraine, and since September 2022, he took on the role of video coordinator in this country and went to the front line very often. According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), he is at least the 11th reporter, escort or tour guide to be killed in Ukraine since the war began on 24 February.

Source: APE-MPE, AFP.