The EBU says the fatal shooting of a cameraman working on behalf of EBU Russian Member Channel One in Ukraine on Monday (30 June) highlights the unacceptable risks faced by media working in areas of conflict.

Anatoly Klyan is the fifth journalist to be killed in the region since fighting began between Kiev troops and armed pro-Russia separatists in the eastern part of the country in April and died when a bus carrying journalists and the relatives of soldiers was hit by gunfire near a military base in Avdiivka, a village just north of the city of Donetsk.

EBU Director General Ingrid Deltenre said the safety of journalists is paramount to ensuring that audiences learn the truth through editorially independent sources, underpinned by public service broadcasting.  

"It is truly tragic when a journalist dies in the course of doing their job," she said. “Reporting from a conflict area necessarily involves an incredibly high personal level of risk. Many professional media workers have paid for their courage with their lives while playing a crucial role to ensure that accurate information reaches the outside world.”