🎙 Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova’s commentary regarding yet another attack by the Kiev regime militants on RIA Novosti journalists (October 17, 2025)

💬 On October 16, in the Zaporozhye Region, militants of the Kiev regime once again attacked unarmed journalists. This time, a RIA Novosti film crew performing an editorial task was struck by an armed Ukrainian drone. As a result of the attack, military correspondent Ivan Zuev was killed by multiple shrapnel wounds. His colleague, Yury Voytkevich, sustained serious injuries, was urgently hospitalized, and is now receiving the necessary medical assistance.

◾️ We extend our sincere condolences and mourn together with the family and friends of Ivan Zuev, who fulfilled his professional duty selflessly until his final moments.

We wish Yury Voytkevich a speedy recovery and full rehabilitation.

Dozens of journalists and war correspondents have already become victims of the terrorist tactics employed by the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev. For the Rossiya Segodnya media group, which includes the RIA Novosti agency, this is already the third irreparable loss since the conflict in Donbass began: in 2014, photo correspondent Andrei Stenin was killed, and in 2023 – military correspondent Rostislav Zhuravlev.

Deliberate attacks on civilians – a category under which journalists are recognized in accordance with international law – have become a routine practice of the Ukrainian armed formations, to which relevant international organizations continue to turn a blind eye. By their inaction, these bodies effectively condone the Zelensky regime’s gruesome crimes and bear their share of responsibility.

We demand that the relevant multilateral institutions – primarily the current Director-General of UNESCO, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as other international human rights organizations – to act responsibly by issuing an immediate condemnation of this latest atrocity perpetrated by the Kiev regime and by implementing comprehensive measures to ensure such acts are not repeated.

❗️ We will persistently seek an appropriate legal assessment from international bodies of this deliberate killing and other crimes committed by the Kiev junta against civilians. Those responsible for the death of the Russian journalist will undoubtedly be identified and will face the well-deserved and inevitable punishment.

#KievRegimeCrimes