Killings spark calls for protection of journalists covering conflict in Ukraine

Rocchelli, 30, and Mironov, 60, were killed by mortar fire near Slavyansk in eastern Ukraine the previous day, while French freelance journalist William Roguelon, who was travelling with them, was wounded in the attack.

"These deaths are horrid reminders that not enough is being done to protect journalists who risk their lives reporting from conflict zones in Ukraine," Mijatović said in a special statement, expressing her condolences to the victims' families.

Speaking from the hospital in Slaviansk, Roguelon told reporters that everything was quiet when he, Rocchelli and Mironov reached the area, to then find themselves in the middle of fierce firefighting between pro-Russian militants and Ukrainian forces.

"After we arrived we got shot at, we threw ourselves in a ditch, after they shot at least 40 shells onto us and the vehicle," Reuters quoted him as saying.

Joining similar calls by Italian officials and representatives of national and international media watchdogs, Mijatović urged the Ukrainian "authorities to swiftly and thoroughly investigate the circumstances of this deadly attack and to hold those responsible accountable".

Furthermore, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RWB) have each issued special statements, saying they were saddened by the loss of the two men.

Rocchelli and Mironov "were committed to ensuring a free and independent press," and "were not supporters of any of the factions at war in Ukraine," a joint statement by the IFJ and the EFJ quoted Franco Siddi, the head of the Federazione Nazionale Della Stampa Italiana (FNSI), as noting.

Warning that the situation in eastern Ukraine is becoming "more and more violent and dangerous for the journalists covering it," the RWB research director Lucie Morillon stressed in a statement that "it is the public's right to information that is threatened when a journalist is targeted".

Media associations and watchdogs also called on all involved in the conflict in the former Soviet republic to respect the work of journalists.

"We urge all parties in the ongoing clashes in eastern Ukraine to respect the role of the media and allow journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal," CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program Coordinator Nina Ognianova said.