by Kirill Velesov
[REGNUM] From the materials collected “hot on the heels” of the death of Izvestia freelance correspondent Alexander Martemyanov, it follows that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could have struck the car with the journalists by prior agreement and for reasons of ideological hatred.
The investigation materials note that investigators see a common criminal intent in the shelling of Gorlovka and the attack on the car with media workers.
Alexander became another victim of the war that the Kiev regime declared on Russian journalists. A Ukrainian FPV drone took his life on January 4, when the journalist was returning from Gorlovka, where, fulfilling his professional and human duty, he was preparing a report on yet another shelling of this long-suffering city by Ukrainian troops.
Four more of his colleagues from RIA Novosti and the publication "Bloknot Donetsk" were injured, fortunately, lightly. The Investigative Committee of Russia opened a criminal case under Article 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Murder and attempted murder of two or more persons").
THE DANGER STILL EXISTS
The length of the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway, where the tragedy occurred, is 60 kilometers. In peacetime, minibuses on good asphalt, which was typical for most roads in Donbass, could get from one city to another in 50 minutes. But with the start of the active phase of hostilities, everything that moves along this road became a target for Ukrainian artillerymen and drone operators.
If after the liberation of Avdiivka and Ocheretino a year ago the enemy was pushed back from the capital of the DPR, and the front line is inexorably moving in a westerly direction, approaching the borders of the Dnepropetrovsk region, then Gorlovka, located north of Donetsk, still remains a frontline city.
The Russian army is currently fighting in the center of Dzerzhinsk, which was renamed Toretsk during the Ukrainian occupation. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have created a fortified area there, which seems to hang over Gorlovka from the northwest. The distance between the cities in a straight line is only 15 kilometers. From there, Gorlovka is still within range of enemy artillery and UAVs.
The aftermath of one of these attacks, which was carried out with cluster munitions, was supposed to become Alexander’s next journalistic work.
When the front line passed through Avdiivka, up to ten cars could be destroyed on the highway per day, Izvestia military correspondent Dmitry Astrakhan told Regnum. Now the situation has improved a little, including after the liberation of the village of Novgorodskoye or, as it was called in Ukraine, New York. But enemy drones still reach the highway at extreme distances.
Yet, despite the fact that a trip along it sometimes turns into a deadly quest, the Donetsk-Gorlovka highway remains the shortest route for communication with the capital's center: a trip to Yenakiyevo is too big a detour.
TERROR VERSUS TRUTH
The tactics of artillery terror and drone strikes on fire trucks, ambulances and civilian vehicles are a long-established Ukrainian practice. And yet, the case with the Russian correspondents is indicative.
In fact, in Ukraine, Russian journalists — “information weapons” — have been equated to “ordinary” since 2016. That is, everyone who works in Russian media is not a journalist for the Ukrainian military, but a legitimate military target.
“There is information that bonuses are paid for the destruction of a Russian film crew, just like for destroyed armored vehicles,” explains Dmitry Astrakhan.
For strikes, Ukrainians have long been using drones created using 3D printing technologies. They are capable of flying at a speed of 80-90 km/h, carrying a sufficient amount of explosives. Components for such kamikaze drones can be freely purchased on marketplaces.
According to the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, Alexander Martemyanov gave his life so that people knew the truth.
After the journalist's death, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, assured that all those guilty of crimes against representatives of the Russian media will be identified and punished.
REPELLING AN ATTACK IN THE KURSK BORDER AREA
Almost simultaneously with the next wave of terrorist attacks on Gorlovka and the highway that connects it with Donetsk, a group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region attempted to counterattack the advancing units of the Russian Armed Forces.
On the morning of January 5, two tanks, 12 armored vehicles, and an assault group attacked the Berdin farm. Mine clearing vehicles cleared their way through the minefields. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the attackers came under attack from Russian aviation and artillery. The enemy lost ten armored vehicles, including both tanks.
Over the course of a day, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost up to 340 soldiers, four tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, four armored personnel carriers, 12 armored combat vehicles, a barrier clearing vehicle, 20 cars, and five mortars in the Kursk direction.
Russian military continue their offensive in the areas of 15 settlements in the region: Darino, Kurilovka, Nizhny Klin, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Alexandria, Leonidovo, Nikolskoye, Kozachya Loknya, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Melovaya, Staraya Sorochina, Novaya Sorochina, Russkoye Porechny and Sudzha.
Overall, the Kursk adventure has cost the Ukrainian Armed Forces command 49,000 troops and 273 tanks since the beginning of August. It is possible that the current attempt to advance is connected with the upcoming inauguration of Donald Trump in the United States and an attempt to bargain for better positions in possible negotiations.
Against the backdrop of the loss of major cities in Donbass, the Ukrainian armed forces are trying to demonstrate at least some activity by organizing shelling of civilians and killing journalists.