An Italian correspondent and his Ukrainian fixer were targeted in an “ambush”. The local journalist was killed by sniper fire.
A Ukrainian journalist employed as a fixer by the Italian daily La Repubblica was killed by sniper fire in southern Ukraine, while his Italian colleague was injured, the newspaper said on Wednesday.
“Our correspondent Corrado Zunino and his fixer Bogdan Bitik fell into an ambush by Russian snipers today in the suburbs of Kherson, in southern Ukraine,” the daily reported.
“Bodgan Bitik unfortunately did not survive: he leaves a wife and a son. Corrado, injured in the shoulder, is hospitalized in Kherson”, he added.
Bullet proof vests
The two journalists, who have extensively covered the conflict since the Russian invasion, wore bulletproof vests with the inscription “press”, he said. They were near the main Kherson bridge.
“We were hit. I saw Bogdan on the ground, who was not moving. I tried to call him, he was not responding. Then I crawled out of the line of fire and ran until I met a civilian car. I was bleeding, they took me to the hospital”, testified the Italian reporter.
The body of his Ukrainian colleague has so far not been recovered due to the presence of Russian snipers, the newspaper said.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani indicated that his services and the Italian Embassy in kyiv were in the process of organizing the return of Corrado Zunino to Italy.
