A Ukrainian journalist who worked as a repairman for the Italian newspaper La Repubblica has been shot and killed by a sniper in Ukraine. Bohdan Bitik worked alongside Italian journalist Corrado Zunino, who was wounded in an ambush by suspected Russian snipers in the Kherson region, the newspaper reported. Both were wearing body armor emblazoned with “Press”. Russia claims to have annexed Kherson, even though it only controls parts of Kherson.
Our reporters were attacked near the Antonovsky Bridge near the Ukrainian-occupied city of Kherson on the west bank of the Dnieper River. Russian troops destroyed the bridge as they withdrew across the river from the city in November.
Ukrainian forces were reported to have established positions on the eastern bank of the nearby river. Ukraine establishes positions across the river from Kherson. The journalists passed through three checkpoints and Ukrainian forces passed them “without problems”,
Zunino said in a phone conversation with his newspaper. Then he heard a “hiss” and saw his colleague collapsed on the floor. “We were right. I saw Fudan on the floor, but he didn’t move.” “I crawled until I was out of line. We ran until we ran into a civilian vehicle.
I was covered in blood. I tried several times to connect to Bogdan, but he did not answer. Zunino is being treated at a hospital in Kherson.
“He unfortunately did not live,” wrote the newspaper, adding that Vittic left behind his wife and son. “He was a good friend of mine and the pain was unbearable,” said Zunino. Newspapers reported that Vitik’s body was difficult to find because of Russian snipers.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleva told Italian media that Russians were responsible for the killings. “Russians don’t care if you’re Russian, Italian or Ukrainian, they just shoot,” he said. Moscow did not immediately comment. Before the deaths were announced,
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported that eight journalists had been killed and 19 injured in Ukraine after Russia’s full-scale invasion last year.
Forcing the Dnieper could be important in future attacks. The Ukrainian military has been open about preparing a massive counterattack for some time, but has not said when or where it might launch.
Until now, the entire Kherson region on the eastern bank of the Dnieper was under Russian control, with the broad river serving as a natural barrier. Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Moscow-controlled Kherson region.
