AFP journalist Arman Soldin killed in eastern Ukraine

May 10 (UPI) -- AFP journalist Arman Soldin was killed in eastern Ukraine Tuesday, the outlet announced.

AFP said Soldin, who worked as a video coordinator, was reporting from Chasiv Yar, near Bakhmut, when grad rockets impacted the area.

"We are devastated to learn of the death of AFP video journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine today," the news agency said. "All of our thoughts go out to his family and loved ones."

Soldin was traveling with four other AFP journalists and a group of Ukrainian soldiers. His colleagues were unharmed in the incident, the AFP said.

"His death is a terrible reminder of the risks and dangers faced by journalists every day covering the conflict in Ukraine," AFP chair Fabrice Fries said.

Soldin, 32, was born in Sarajevo, Bosnia, and was a French citizen.

Previously stationed in London, he began working as a video coordinator in Ukraine in September 2022, the agency said.

"Arman's brilliant work summed up everything that makes us proud of AFP journalism in Ukraine," said Philip Chetwynd, AFP's global news director said.

Reporters Without Borders said that Soldin is the 10th journalist killed in Ukraine since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

"Great sadness of RSF International. A tragedy of all those who defend the independence and reliability of information. I express our full solidarity with the AFP teams, whose courage on a daily basis should never be forgotten," RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire tweeted Tuesday.

The French government also mourned Soldin's death Tuesday.

"The tragic death of Arman Soldin at Bakhmut reminds us of the cost of the liberty to inform. I bow before his courage to have told the reality of war and offer my heartfelt condolences to his family and colleagues," French minister for Europe and foreign affairs, Catherine Colonna, tweeted.

"An Agence France-Presse journalist, one of our compatriots, Arman Soldin, was killed in Ukraine. With courage, from the first hours of the conflict he was at the front to establish the facts. To inform us. We share the pain of his loved ones and all his colleagues," French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken honored Soldin during remarks at the Freedom House Annual Awards ceremony Tuesday.

"Countless journalists are working to expose and report on the truth in extremely dangerous conditions," Blinken said. "Today we learn of the death of an AFP video Journalist Arman Soldin in eastern Ukraine. Our thoughts are with his family, with his loved ones, with the entire AFP family."