France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (PNAT) opened a war crimes investigation on 5 October into the 3 October drone strike by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Donetsk oblast, which killed the French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican and severely wounded Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko, according to Reporters Without Borders.
The investigation has been entrusted to the Central Office for Combating Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes (OCLCH).
RSF added that a preliminary investigation was launched on 3 October on the basis of Article 438-2 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code for “war crimes”.
RSF Director General Thibaut Bruttin has called for “close and effective co-operation between the French and Ukrainian authorities to establish the exact circumstances of the attack, which are necessary to determine who was responsible.”
“RSF welcomes the swift opening of a war crime investigation by France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office and the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office in Ukraine, following the drone attack that killed Antoni Lallican and seriously injured his Ukrainian colleague Georgiy Ivanchenko,” he said.
Previously
Prominent French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican was killed in a targeted Russian FPV drone strike on 3 October 2025. His colleague Heorhiy Ivanchenko, Ukrainian journalist, freelance photographer, Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers member, was severely wounded. Ivanchenko’s leg had to be amputated; he has a long period of rehabilitation ahead of him. His coworkers have announced a fundraising campaign to support his treatment.
On 3 October, Ukrainian prosecutors opened a case regarding the murder of French journalist and photographer Antoni Lallican by Russian troops in Donetsk oblast and the wounding of Ukrainian journalist Heorhiy Ivanchenko.
