RSF: Russian troops executed a noted Ukrainian photographer

Maks Levin

As a result of an investigation conducted by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), it has been determined that noted Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin and a soldier who was accompanying him for security were executed by Russian troops near Kyiv in March as they searched for photographic gear that they had lost.

Reports by RSF, a Paris-based organization, indicate that investigations conducted from May 24 to June 3 as well as information and evidence obtained indicate Levin and Oleksiy Chernyshov were executed on March 13 by Russian soldiers in a forest near the village of Moshchun near Kyiv, "possibly after being interrogated and tortured."

An investigation conducted by Arnaud Froger, the head of RSF's investigation desk, and Patrick Chauvel, a French war photographer who had worked with Levin in Ukraine, concluded that Levin and Chernyshov were captured by Russian soldiers when they attempted to locate a drone Levin used to cover Russia's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

RSF stated that its investigation, which included bullets, identity documents, items with DNA traces attesting to Russian soldiers' presence at the scene, Levin's burned Ford Maverick car, and other items, allowed it to conclude that Levin and his bodyguard were executed.

“Analysis of the photos of the crime scene, the observations made on the spot, and the material evidence recovered clearly point to an execution that may have been preceded by interrogation or even acts of torture," Christophe Deloire, RSF secretary-general, said in a statement.

"In the context of a war heavily marked by propaganda and Kremlin censorship, Maks Levin and his friend paid with their lives for their fight for reliable information. We owe them the truth. And we will fight to identify and find those who executed them," Deloire added.

Levin, 40, is one of eight journalists to have been killed in the course of their work since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine. His body was found in a forest on April 2.

He worked for many Ukrainian and international media outlets, such as Reuters, the BBC, and The Associated Press.