On 30 June 2014, Anatoly Klyan, a Russian Channel One cameraman, was shot and fatally injured while traveling in a bus in

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; ; ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin, and Stalino, is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine located on the Kalmius River in Donetsk Oblast, which is currently occupied by Russia as the capita ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

during the 2014 pro-Russian unrest and evidence of a violation of the cease-fire agreement.

Background

Amidst the

War in Donbas The war in Donbas, or the Donbas war, was a phase of the Russo-Ukrainian War in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine. The war Timeline of the war in Donbas (2014), began in April 2014, when Russian separatist forces in Ukraine, Russian para ...

, a group pro-Russian separatists organized a trip of civilians and journalists to a Ukrainian military base near the village of

Avdiivka Avdiivka (, ; , ) is a city in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The city is located in the centre of the oblast, just north of the regional centre, Donetsk. The large Avdiivka Coke Plant is located in Avdiivka. The city had a population of before th ...

, north of Donetsk. The civilians included many mothers of Ukrainian soldiers, who were reportedly making the trip with the hope of bringing their sons home. According to ''Forbes-Russia'' and '' Ekho Moskvy'', the separatists had told journalists that they had negotiated the surrender of a Ukrainian army unit, and invited the journalists to film soldiers being greeted by their mothers.

Personal life

Anatoly Klyan (, born 23 January 1946) was from Russia. He was an experienced cameraman for the Russian Channel One who had covered many conflicts in areas such as

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

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Mongolia Mongolia is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south and southeast. It covers an area of , with a population of 3.5 million, making it the world's List of countries and dependencies by po ...

, and

Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...

. Klyan worked for

Channel One Russia Channel One ( rus, Первый канал, r=Pervý kanal, p=ˈpʲervɨj kɐˈnal, t=First Channel) is a Russian Television in Russia, federal television channel. Its headquarters are located at Ostankino Technical Center near the Ostankino To ...

(Pervy Kanal). He was 68 years old and had worked in journalism for 40 years when his death occurred.

Death

Late in the evening of Sunday 29 June, as the bus approached the military base, it came under gunfire. Klyan was shot in the stomach, but he continued to film on the bus until he told his colleagues that he could no longer carry the camera. The bus then turned around and drove a few hundred meters away before stopping. The bus driver, who was wearing camouflage, had also been shot in the neck. The gunfire continued as the passengers began to leave the bus. Klyan was helped into a passing-by car and taken to a nearby hospital, where he later died from his wounds.

Aftermath

The Russian Foreign Ministry released a statement saying Klyan's death "has again showed convincingly that the security forces of Ukraine clearly do not want to de-escalate the conflict in the east of the country and block the truce instead," and accused Ukraine of deliberately endangering the lives of Russian journalists. Ukrainian prosecutors announced that they would begin an investigation into the incident. Both sides were accused of having violated a 10-day cease-fire, which had been set to expire at 10:00pm the next day. Klyan was interred at the

Troyekurovskoye Cemetery The Troyekurovo Cemetery (), alternatively known as ''Novo-Kuntsevo Cemetery'' (), is a cemetery in Moscow, Russia. The cemetery is located in the former village of Troyekurovo on the western edge of Moscow, which derives its name from the Troye ...

in Moscow with several colleagues who also died in Ukraine in 2014 while reporting. The other journalists buried there are

Andrey Stenin On 5 August 2014, Andrey Alexeyevich Stenin, a Russian photojournalist, disappeared while covering the War in Donbas. He was confirmed dead on 3 September 2014, having died on 6 August according to the Investigative Committee of Russia. Backgr ...

, Igor Kornelyuk, and Anton Voloshin. Klyan's death was part of a series of journalist deaths in Ukraine. He was the fifth journalist that was killed in the region in 2014. VGTRK lost two journalists and a technician in another incident in Luhansk on June 17. Klyan's death, along with other journalists in Ukraine, caused anger in Moscow, as Moscow has condemned the attacks on it journalists there. Klyan's death also was part of a violation of the Ukrainian-declared ceasefire. Ukrainian soldiers were blamed by the Russian foreign ministry for the attack that occurred. The Russian foreign ministry demanded an investigation into the assault and attack. They demanded a punishment for the ones responsible for everything that happened. Irina Bokova, director-general of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

, said, "I condemn the murder of Anatoly Klyan. I call on the authorities to conduct an investigation into the murder and bring to account those responsible. Journalists covering events in Ukraine must have an opportunity to fulfill their professional duty, which is to provide citizens with unbiased information and promote news-based discussions without any fear for their own lives." According to a

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

analysis by Stephen Ennis Klyan's employer has in its reports about Ukraine "sought to further demonise and dehumanise the

Ukrainian army The Ukrainian Ground Forces (SVZSU, ), also referred to as the Ukrainian army, is a land force, and one of the eight Military branch, branches of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It was formed from Ukrainian units of the Soviet Army after Declaratio ...

".How Russian TV uses psychology over Ukraine

(4 February 2015)

References

External links