Arman Soldin: Journalist killed in Ukraine given top French honour

Arman Soldin was killed in a rocket attack close to Bakhmut in May

France has posthumously awarded its highest honour to an AFP video journalist killed in Ukraine.

Arman Soldin, 32, who died in a rocket attack close to Bakhmut in May, was made a knight of the Legion of Honour.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed Soldin's "bravery" in a letter sent to the Agence France-Presse news agency.

Soldin is one of at least 17 journalists killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.

He was given the honour by a presidential decree on Thursday - one of 358 citizens rewarded from across French society.

Henri d'Anselme, dubbed the "backpack hero" for chasing off a knife attacker in a playground in the town of Annecy, was decorated along with two other men who intervened.

In an earlier letter to Agence France Presse, President Macron praised its video journalist's "strength of character, his journey and his drive".

"Arman Soldin embodied your editorial staff's passion - a passion to convey the truth, tell stories and gather testimonies. It was a passion for a cause: the duty to inform," he said.

Soldin was killed after he was hit by rocket fire near Chasiv Yar, just west of Bakhmut, on 9 May, when a team of journalists came under attack while with a group of Ukrainian soldiers. The rest of the AFP team were unharmed.

He died "with his camera in his hand", his colleague Emmanuel Peuchot said.

• LISTEN: A tribute to journalist Arman Soldin killed in Ukraine

At the time, Bakhmut had been the epicentre of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces for several months.

France's anti-terrorism prosecutor's office has opened a war crimes investigation into his death.

Soldin, born in Bosnia but a French national, was part of the first AFP team to go to Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February last year and had lived there since September.

As an infant, he fled fighting in Bosnia with his family, taking a humanitarian flight to France in April 1992, according to AFP.

The agency's Europe director, Christine Buhagiar, remembered Soldin as "enthusiastic, energetic and brave", and said he had been "totally devoted to his craft".

The Legion of Honour is France's top accolade for an elite group of people who distinguish themselves through civilian or military valour.

It was introduced by Napoleon Bonaparte, then first consul of the French Republic, in 1802.

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