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Paris-based photographer Antoni Lallican has been died in a drone attack by Russian forces in the eastern region of Ukraine, as reported by the Ukrainian armed forces.

A Ukrainian photojournalist, a photojournalist from Ukraine working alongside Mr Lallican, was injured in the identical incident on the edges of a village in the Donetsk region.

The global journalist organizations declared this was the first occurrence of a reporter being killed by a UAV in the war-torn nation.

Mr Lallican, a French documentary maker, had been capturing the war since March 2022 - a month after Russia launched its full-scale invasion - resulting in him receiving the prestigious Victor Hugo Prize for his photographic work in last year.

Event Specifics

The pair of photographers had been embedded with the armored division near Komyshuvakha, around approximately 15 kilometers from the frontline, at the moment of the incident.

Per a official communication from the Hans Lucas photo agency, both photographers were using personal protective equipment, and their body armor had identification marks with the media identification on them.

A bystander informed media outlets that the audible disturbance - being used to build defensive positions - may have prevented them from hearing the approaching UAV.

The brigade's press officer, Anastasia Haletska - who was also wounded in the assault - said she was able to administer emergency bandages to Mr Ivanchenko, before both of them were transported for medical care in the adjacent city of Kramatorsk.

Mr Lallican was killed instantly, she said. Mr Ivanchenko is in a non-critical condition, but had to have his lower extremity surgically taken.

International Reaction

France's leader shared a tribute to Mr Lallican and said he had been a fatality of a UAV strike.

"I extend my heartfelt thoughts to his relatives, loved ones, and all his fellow journalists who, endangering themselves, deliver news and record history to the reality of war," he posted on social media.

Mr Lallican's photographic portfolio has been featured by numerous outlets, including Parisian publications Le Monde and Le Figaro.

His work in Ukraine, which traces the "impact of the conflict", has taken him across the country, from Odesa, in the coastal zone, to the northern urban center, in the eastern sector, according to his digital presence.

Documenting the Human Cost

Families fleeing in the early days of the invasion, senior citizens staying behind in their dwellings under artillery attacks, and military personnel engaged and living on the frontline appear in his visual records, among many others whose lives have been upended by the conflict.

Based on information from the journalist federations, seventeen media professionals have been lost their lives since the conflict started.

In a combined announcement, they said: "We pay tribute to the courage of this journalist and all the media workers who continue to cover the conflict. We insist that the individuals behind this attack be prosecuted."

Sergiy Tomilenko, leader of the media professionals' union, claimed Russian forces were "intentionally targeting those attempting to record violations of international law".

"For journalists, every trip to the frontline zone is a life-threatening situation. This journalist faced this peril consistently, visiting the war zone, working in conflict areas, capturing difficult realities," he said in a statement.

"He created a photographic connection between the global audience and conditions within the country. Now he has been transformed into part of this devastating account".

The Moscow authorities has not commented on the incident.