Russia claims a journalist was killed in a drone attack in occupied Ukraine and urges the UN to condemn Kyiv.

Russia claims a journalist was killed in a drone attack in occupied Ukraine and urges the UN to condemn Kyiv.

According to Russia's Izvestia newspaper, freelance correspondent Alexander Martemyanov succumbed to injuries after a drone strike hit the vehicle he was traveling in on the Donetsk-Horlivka highway, within Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.

Russian authorities and media have attributed the alleged attack to Ukraine’s armed forces, though Kyiv has not yet issued a public statement. CNN has been unable to independently verify these claims.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), stated that Martemyanov was returning from an assignment in Horlivka when the incident occurred.

The strike reportedly injured four other journalists: two from the state-run Russian news agency RIA Novosti and two from the pro-Russian outlet Bloknot Donetsk. Pushilin described their injuries as minor, with the journalists receiving medical care.

Bloknot Donetsk reported that its team survived by jumping from the moving vehicle, sustaining shrapnel wounds, concussions, and bruises.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova condemned the incident as a “deliberate murder,” accusing Kyiv of targeting ideological opponents. She called on the UN and other international organizations to condemn the attack and vowed that those responsible would face consequences.

Russia plans to address the matter at an upcoming UN Security Council meeting, according to Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN.