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“Killed for Telling the Truth”: Zelenskyy Says Russia Has Murdered 135 Media Workers

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Roman Kohanets
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“Killed for Telling the Truth”: Zelenskyy Says Russia Has Murdered 135 Media Workers
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on October 23, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an October 23 press conference in Brussels that Russia has killed 135 media workers since its full-scale invasion in February 2022.

“Since 2022, Russia has killed 135 media representatives–simply because they were reporting the truth about what is happening in Ukraine, about this war, about Russian aggression,” he stated, adding that journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin were killed the same day by a Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk, while special correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev was injured.

Zelenskyy also underscored the need for continued sanctions and air defense support: “Pressure also means weapons and air defense–first and foremost, for us,” he said. 

Ukrainian authorities and multiple outlets confirmed the incident in Kramatorsk. Reuters reported that Hubanova and Karmazin, both from the state-funded Freedom TV channel, were killed when a Lancet loitering munition struck their car, with officials opening a war-crimes probe into the attack. 

International and local press-freedom organizations documented the fatalities and identified the victims. The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine published an updated roll of media workers killed, listing Hubanova and Karmazin with details of the October 23 strike in Donetsk region, while the Committee to Protect Journalists reported the deaths as part of its ongoing monitoring of attacks on the press. 

Earlier, it was reported that a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk killed journalist Olena Hubanova and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin of FreeDom, and injured correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev.

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