Italian journalist Andrea Rocchelli and his Russian translator Andrey Mironov were killed in Sloviansk. They documented the fighting between pro-Ukrainians and pro-Russians in turbulent east Ukraine.
French freelance journalist William Roguelon was with them and told reporters they “came under fire” Saturday afternoon.
“We went to the area because there had been a bombing next to a neighborhood. So, there was nothing when we arrived. We were an Italian journalist, a fixer, a driver,” he said.
He described the attack: “After we arrived we got shot at; we threw ourselves in a ditch, after they shot at least 40 shells onto us and the vehicle.”
The three men were hit by mortar fire between the pro-Russians and Ukrainians. Roguelon was hurt and said he did not know Rocchelli and Mironov’s condition when he last saw them.
The bodies were transferred to a local hospital, and Rocchelli’s family will arrive on Sunday.
Ukraine is participating in a presidential election, and most people are not allowed to vote in the east. Sloviansk has seen some of the worst fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian forces since Russia-backed President Viktor Yanukovych was ousted on February 22.
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