War reporter Aliona Hramova (Hubanova) and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin of the Ukrainian international channel Freedom TV were killed in a Russian Lancet drone strike in Kramatorsk (Donetsk oblast) on October 23, Donetsk Oblast Military Administration chair Vadym Filashkin reported in a Facebook post.

“Since the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion, they had been reporting on the situation in the region, telling the truth about the enemy’s crimes, the evacuation of civilians, the stories of our defenders. They worked in the hottest spots of Donetsk oblast, were always the first to arrive everywhere,” Filashkin said.

Freedom TV's team later added that the incident also involved special correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev, who was taken to the hospital with injuries. At the moment of the strike, the journalists were in their car at a gas station.

Aliona Hramova worked in the hottest spots of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts constantly. She was a financier by education, but realized with the start of the Russian aggression that her calling was journalism.

“For me, the war began in 2014. Kramatorsk, where I lived, was occupied for a little over two months, but I witnessed a lot during these two months. Yes, the war began in 2014, but I was not a journalist back then, I was just an ordinary citizen of Ukraine, later becoming a volunteer. We went through a lot during this time,” Aliona said in an interview.

Hramova was born in Yenakiyeve, Donetsk oblast. She was a war reporter for Ukraine’s international broadcasting channels since 2021. In June 2023, she was awarded the Princess Olha Order, 3rd rank. Alyona Hramova died aged 43.

Yevhen Kramazin was born in Kramatorsk, Donetsk oblast. He worked as an cameraman for Ukraine’s international broadcasting channels since 2022. Yevhen was 33.