Overview
- France’s anti-terror prosecutors opened a war-crimes inquiry on October 5 and assigned it to the OCLCH, which has begun evidence-gathering with Ukrainian counterparts.
- Antoni Lallican, 37, was killed on October 3 near Druzhkivka in Donetsk, and Ukrainian journalist Georgiy Ivanchenko was seriously wounded.
- Ukrainian authorities report the pair traveled in a vehicle and protective gear labeled “PRESS,” with initial findings pointing to a precision FPV drone strike that press groups say is the war’s first journalist death by drone.
- Ukraine’s military and President Emmanuel Macron blamed Russia for the attack, though formal attribution and a chain of command remain unproven.
- Journalists are protected as civilians under international humanitarian law, allowing France to assert jurisdiction and potentially contribute to ongoing ICC investigations if intent and responsibility are established.