Missing Photojournalist Confirmed Dead

- The Russian photographer Andrei Stenin (33), who went missing in eastern Ukraina in early August, died about a month ago when a car he was travelling in came under fire.

This is reported by the Russian news agency Ria Novosti today.

The statement comes from Dmitry Kiselev, the Director General of the international news agency Rossiya Segodnye, citing results of an examination by the Russian Investigative Committee.

When Stenin went missing sources said that the journalist was possibly held by the Ukrainian military, but the information has never been officially confirmed by Kiev.

- Our colleague, photojournalist Andrei Stenin has been killed. It turned out that he was not taken prisoner. It turned out, no one planned to swap him for any Ukrainian military personnel or accuse him of terrorist activities. All of the announcements that we heard from the Ukrainians about Stenin’s fate were lies. He died one month ago in a car that he was in while fulfilling his journalistic duties. The vehicle came under fire and burned down on a highway near Donetsk, Kiselev said.

The journalistic society in Russia have followed Andrei’s fate and demanded that international organizations freed him.

- We are thankful to everyone in Russia and abroad for your activities and for your support. Unfortunately, when we were trying to do everything possible and even impossible for his freedom, Andrei was already no longer with us, Kiselev went on.

- In just a few months, Ukraine became one of the most dangerous places on Earth for journalists. Four Russian journalists have already died in this war, the Director General says.

Stenin has reported from many conflict zones, including Syria, and covered the Arab Spring events in Egypt.