French photojournalist Antoni Lallican killed by Russian drone strike in Ukraine’s Donbas

French photojournalist Antoni Lallican killed by a drone in Ukraine

French photojournalist Antoni Lallican was killed on Friday morning in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region after a Russian drone strike, media unions confirmed. Ukrainian journalist Heorgiy Ivanchenko was also wounded in the attack. Both were wearing vests clearly marked “Press.”

The European Federation of Journalists said it was the first time a journalist had been killed by a drone in Ukraine.

“Today, in Ukraine, the main threat to journalists, as to all civilians, is Russian drones hunting people,” said Sergiy Tomilenko, president of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine. “These are not collateral victims of the war. By targeting journalists, the Russian army is deliberately hunting those trying to document war crimes.”

Lallican, a Paris-based journalist, had worked for publications including Le Monde, Le Figaro, Libération, Der Spiegel, and Die Welt. He traveled to Ukraine shortly after Russia’s 2022 invasion and focused much of his work on the lives of Donbas residents.

In January 2024, he received the Victor Hugo Prize for Committed Photography for his series Suddenly the Sky Darkened, which documented the war’s toll. His final Instagram post on September 21 described Russia’s “accelerated” advance in eastern Ukraine and the “massive deployment of kamikaze drones, now omnipresent.”

French President Emmanuel Macron paid tribute on X, calling Lallican “a victim of a Russian drone attack” while accompanying Ukrainian forces on the frontline. He expressed “deep sadness” and extended condolences to the journalist’s family and loved ones.

The incident, which occurred around 9:20 a.m. local time, remains under investigation.