A camera crew with the Latvian Public Media (LSM), including reporter Odita Krenberga and cameraman Aigars Kovaļevskis, were attacked by a Russian drone near the front line in Ukraine, the broadcaster reported on 10 February.
The incident occurred as the journalists were working on a news story: they were travelling along with Ukrainian soldiers, heading to a UAF unit’s positions. The drone exploded next to their car, the fragments damaging the rear and breaking the windows. The driver managed to react quickly, so none of the journalists or soldiers were injured.
The journalists were working on a report about Aleksandrs, a Latvian national from Alūksne who is fighting in Donetsk as part of a UAF airborne brigade. The journalists visited the unit’s combat positions to tell his story.
The broadcaster writes that despite the weather being unfavourable for drones during the LSM crew’s visit (the wind was strong in some areas, there were blizzards and the visibility was poor), the cameraman, reporters, as well as Aleksandrs and other Ukrainian soldiers were still spotted and targeted by a drone.
The path then ran under the cover of a forest, along the edge of a field. The group soon reached the unit’s positions, where the journalists managed to film the story.
LSM stressed in a statement that the work of journalists in the combat area is extremely important: it helps show the reality of war as well as document war crimes and human rights violations.
LSM chief editor Anita Brauna said that independent battlefield journalism is an important counterweight to propaganda and enables society to get verified facts.
“The LSM crew is aware of the risks it faces when visiting Ukraine’s defenders and recording the reality of the war, because it is this kind of presence that enables us to document the true face of war no matter how dangerous or cruel it may be. We highly appreciate the work and courage of our reporters, because independent journalism in this situation serves as an important counterweight to false and manipulative news, allowing society to rely on facts, not manipulation,” Anita Brauna said.
LSM has been covering Ukraine new since 2014 and has continued to work actively following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022.
Three journalists were deliberately targeted and killed by Russian FPV drones in 2025: French photojournalist Antoni Lallican, Ukrainian reporters with the state-run FREEDOM TV, Alyona Hramova and Yevhen Karmazin.
According to the Institute of Mass Information, Russia has committed 872 crimes against the media and journalists in Ukraine since the start of the full-scale war.
