RSF - Reporters sans frontières

10/03/2025 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 10/03/2025 12:03

Ukraine: RSF pays tribute to French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, killed in a drone strike

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) pays tribute to French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, killed while covering the Russian war in Ukraine. Fellow news professional Georgiy Ivanchenko was seriously injured in the same attack. RSF calls for a swift, independent investigation to shed light on the circumstances of this targeted drone strike.

37-year-old French freelance photographer Antoni Lallicandied while reporting near the town of Druzhkivka, in the Donetsk Oblast, following a Russian drone strike, according to the 4th Ukrainian Tank Brigade. His Ukrainian colleague Georgiy Ivanchenko, a freelance photographer for the Kyiv Independent, was one of multiple people seriously injured in the same attack. Both were wearing protective equipment marked "press."

"RSF offers its sincere condolences to Antoni Lallican's family and friends. He died while doing his job, bearing witness to the consequences of war. His commitment, recognised by his peers, was as great as the risks he took to report the news. RSF repeats that journalists must be given enhanced protection in war zones and that both states and armed forces must strictly comply with international humanitarian law, which explicitly protects journalists on assignment. We call for a swift investigation into the circumstances of Antoni Lallican's death, in conjunction with the French Public Prosecutor's Office, and for constant vigilance regarding security conditions in high-risk areas such as Donbass.

Thibaut Bruttin
RSF Director General

Dedicated to producing photographs that combined documentary with a humanist touch, Antoni Lallican had been covering the consequences of the war in Ukraine for several years, particularly in the Donbass region. His work was published by numerous French media outlets, including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libérationand Mediapart, as well as international outlets such as Der Spiegel, Die Zeitand Le Temps. He was nominated for the RSFpress photography award in 2024.

He is the 14th reporter to be killedwhile covering Russia's large-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began in 2022. Three others were also French nationals: Arman Soldin, Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoffand Pierre Zakrzewski.

EUROPE - CENTRAL ASIA
Ukraine
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62/ 180
Score : 63.93
EUROPE - CENTRAL ASIA
Russia
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171/ 180
Score : 24.57
Published on03.10.2025
  • EUROPE - CENTRAL ASIA
  • Russia
  • Ukraine
  • Violence against journalists
  • News
  • Denunciation
  • Photographer (Photojournalist)
  • Murder
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