At least one journalist was injured in renewed fighting in and around the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on January 31, according to his employer.
Pavel Chuprina, a cameraman for the Russian online broadcaster Life TV, was covering a battle between Ukrainian security forces and separatists backed by Russia in Donetsk when he was hit in his leg by shrapnel, Life TV and the Russian news agency Interfax reported.
Fighting between Ukrainian government forces and Russia-backed separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has flared again in recent days. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on January 30 cut short a visit to Germany following shelling in the area and what Poroshenko’s spokesman called “an emergency situation verging on a humanitarian catastrophe.”
The European Union on January 31 called for an immediate ceasefire in the region.
At least five journalist and two media workers have been killed in eastern Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict in 2014, according to CPJ research.