A Ukrainian photojournalist working for several major Western media outlets, including Reuters and the BBC, was killed by Russian forces near Kievsaid the attorney general’s office Ukraine this Saturday (2).
The body of Maksym (Maks) Levin – who was recording the ongoing conflict – was found with two gunshot wounds in the Vyshgorod district, which is north of the capital, the cabinet said in a Facebook post, citing preliminary reports.
“According to preliminary information, soldiers from the Russian Armed Forces killed the unarmed Maksym Levin with two shots,” he said. His closest relatives have been informed, the office told CNN.
Photographer Markiian Lyseiko told CNN who last made contact with his friend, known as Maks, on March 12, the day before he disappeared in a northern district of Kiev, where he was reporting on fighting and fleeing civilians.
In their final conversations, Lyseiko said that Levin had asked him to go to the Ukrainian capital so they could cover the war together.
Lyseiko, who has worked alongside Levin since 2014 documenting the war in Donbasswhere they engaged with Ukrainian soldiers for weeks on end, described his friend in an interview with CNN on March 24 as an energetic and tenacious reporter who often resembled him and was “not afraid.”
Since the war started eight years ago, Levin has wanted to show the world what was happening in Ukraine, especially for the Russiasaid Lyseiko.
“The best way to understand Maks is to look at his work,” Lyseiko said. “When you watch Maks movies or see pictures of him, you will understand him, speechless.”
A criminal investigation is being carried out by the Vyshgorod District Prosecutor’s Office into alleged violations of “laws of war”, the attorney general’s office said, adding that “measures are being taken to establish all the circumstances of the crime”.
Levin began working as a photojournalist in 2006, according to his biography on LensCulture, a photo resource website.
He works for the Ukrainian news agency LB.ua and was “well known” in his field, having collaborated with Reuters, BBC, TRT World and the Associated Press, according to the attorney general’s office.
In an online statement, LB.ua said Levin is survived by four children, a civil partner and elderly parents. The agency said that in addition to journalism, Levin has worked on dozens of photo and video projects for humanitarian organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), Unicef and UN Women.
In his biography, Levin described himself as a “documentary photographer/videographer, father, human being”. The Reuters news agency said on Saturday it was “deeply saddened” by Levin’s death.
“We are deeply saddened to learn of the death of long-time Reuters contributor Maksym Levin in Ukraine,” John Pullman, Reuters global managing editor for visuals, said in a statement to CNN.
“Maks has been providing fascinating photos and videos from Ukraine to Reuters since 2013. His death is a great loss to the world of journalism. Our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time,” Pullman said.
Source: CNN Brasil
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