A Russian journalist has been killed and two others wounded in a shelling attack by Ukrainian forces near the border with Russia, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.
The agency said its crew and other journalists were covering the situation in the Zaporozhye Region of Russia, where thousands of refugees have fled from the fighting in eastern Ukraine, when they came under fire on Saturday.
The journalist who died was identified as Andrei Stenin, a photo correspondent who had worked for RIA Novosti since 2009. He had covered conflicts in Syria, Libya, Egypt and other countries.
The agency said Stenin was travelling in a car with other journalists when a mortar shell hit their vehicle. The other journalists managed to escape, but Stenin’s body was found later in the burned car.
RIA Novosti condemned the attack as a “deliberate murder” and a “war crime” and demanded an investigation and punishment for those responsible.
The Russian Foreign Ministry also expressed its outrage and blamed the Ukrainian authorities for the incident.
The conflict in Ukraine has claimed more than 2,000 lives since April, when the government launched an operation to regain control of the rebel-held regions.
More than 300,000 people have been displaced by the violence, according to the UN. Many of them have sought refuge in Russia or other neighbouring countries.