A prominent war correspondent for Russian state television was seriously injured in a Ukrainian drone attack in the southwestern Kursk region, his employer said late Wednesday.
Rossiya-24 correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny was hospitalized after a drone struck the vehicle he was riding in during a reporting assignment on Ukraine’s surprise incursion into the Kursk region, which began early Tuesday.
Initial reports falsely claimed Poddubny had died, but authorities later confirmed that he had regained consciousness and was receiving treatment at a local hospital.
“Great doctors, doing a great job in general,” Poddubny said in an audio message published Thursday morning by acting Kursk region Governor Aleksei Smirnov, who added that the journalist was evacuated to Moscow after doctors stabilized his condition.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, launched a criminal investigation into the attack on Poddubny, treating it as attempted murder and obstruction of journalism.
The law enforcement body said it was “taking all possible measures to identify and bring those involved to justice.”
The United Nations expressed concern about the attack on Poddubny, according to the state-run TASS news agency.
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