“She Was Donbas’s Voice,” Ukraine Grieves Two Journalists Killed in Direct Russian Drone Strike

The journalists, who worked for the Ukrainian Freedom Channel, were killed on October 23 while reporting in the region.

Relatives and friends gathered at St. Michael’s Monastery in Kyiv on October 27 to say their goodbyes to Gramova and Karmazin.

Both being from the region, Alyona from Yenakiieve and Yevhen from Kramatorsk, made their reporting deeply personal.

Gramova has worked as a military correspondent for the Ukrainian state foreign broadcasting channels since 2021. In June 2023, she was awarded the Order of Princess Olha, 3rd degree.

Karmazin has worked as a cameraman for Ukrainian state foreign broadcasting channels since 2021.

The journalists’ colleagues shared their thoughts and memories with us.

“Light, gentle, radiant, and made of steel,” said Gramova’s colleague, journalist Anna Nytchenko. “So much strength and so much light in a person who’s lived through an entire war. To carry that much sunlight within after everything she’s seen—I don’t know how that’s even possible. People who’ve witnessed such things usually can’t. It just doesn’t exist. And yet she remained strong and brave—such a rare combination. She was deeply patriotic. Patriotic, sincere, and courageous. The emotions she evoked… It was something angelic.””

“We worked with Alyona and Yevhen, and did evacuations together,” Dutch volunteer Franky van Hintum said. “We spoke to them every day. We remember them as very professional, but also very warm people. They were real and tried to help every time.”

Pavlo Shtelmakh, a colleague of Alyona and Zhenya, shared the following statement with our team: “Alyona and Zhenya were the kind of people whose names I was always glad to see on the list of upcoming stories. The pieces they created and the stories they told weren’t just about war—they were about life, about strength, and about the goodness that always finds a way, no matter how dark it gets.”

Their video reports covered Russia’s attacks in the Donetsk region, the work of Ukrainian defense systems and artillery crews.

“For many, they were like suns, bringing warmth, light, and a moment of joy, even when surrounded by destruction,” said Shtelmakh. “Despite the war, despite being in places where it seemed there was nothing good left to find—they always found it. May they rest in peace.”

Even without knowing the journalists personally, you could see their effect on the people they worked with.

Targeting media workers seems to be a rising occurrence, with Russian forces recently killing the French photographer Antoni Lallikan, which violates the international humanitarian law and constitutes a war crime.

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