Council of Europe Secretary General Alain Berset said he was shocked by Russia's murder of Ukrainian media workers from the Freedom TV channel, Olena Hramova (Hubanova) and Yevhen Karmazin, in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region.

“Shocked and saddened by killing in Kramatorsk of journalists Olena Hramova (Hubanova) and Yevhen Karmazin of Freedom, which covers CoE’s work on accountability for Ukraine,” he said on his official X page.

Berset added that “we honor their courage & reaffirm our commitment to truth, justice, and press freedom.”

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Jan Braathu also responded to the death of Ukrainian journalists and the injury of another in Kramatorsk.

“Once again, the war against Ukraine has taken the lives of journalists. Today’s Russian drone attack in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, killed Olena Hramova and Yevhen Karmazin, and wounded Oleksandr Kolychev, journalists of Ukraine’s international broadcaster FREEDOM,” the statement posted on X reads.

The OSCE emphasized that journalists have a protected status under international humanitarian law and should not be targets of attacks.

“I express my condolences to Olena Hramova’s and Yevhen Karmazin’s families and colleagues, and wish a swift recovery to Oleksandr Kolychev,” the representative noted.

As reported, on Thursday morning, Freedom TV journalist Olena Hramova (Hubanova) and cameraman Yevhen Karmazin were killed in a Russian Lancet drone attack on a civilian vehicle in Kramatorsk. The journalists were in a car at a gas station during the attack. Special correspondent Oleksandr Kolychev survived and was taken to the hospital after being wounded, according to the Dom TV channel's website.