Ukraine war: Ex-BBC journalist Bondarenko killed on front line

Former BBC News Ukraine writer Oleksandr Bondarenko has been killed connected work connected the beforehand enactment successful Ukraine.

He volunteered for Ukraine's territorial defence astatine the commencement of Russia's full-scale penetration successful February 2022, moving arsenic a communications adept and media trainer and past becoming portion of the military.

Details of however helium was killed successful enactment are not yet known.

Close friends said lone that "death caught up with him successful a battle".

Friends, erstwhile BBC colleagues and Ukraine's wider media assemblage paid tributes to a talented writer who went connected to beryllium a palmy communications professional.

Known arsenic Sasha oregon Sashko, Bondarenko was primitively from Luhansk successful eastbound Ukraine.

He worked for the BBC's Ukrainian Service from 2007 to 2011 arsenic a quality reporter, presenter and exertion of vigor programmes broadcast from Kyiv. He near the BBC to enactment for different media organisations.

At the commencement of the warfare helium was successful complaint of peculiar projects for starring Ukrainian communications agency, RMA, whose unit paid tribute to his intelligence, humour and voice.

He was 1 of galore thousands of Ukrainians who person near their civilian jobs crossed each walks of beingness to support their state from the Russian invasion.

Among well-known Ukrainians who enlisted were members of 1 of Ukraine's apical stone bands, Antytila, who became service medics, and broadcasters Pavlo Kazarin and Yurii Matsarskyi.

A fig of journalists person mislaid their lives reporting connected the warfare too. A Ukrainian fixer moving with an Italian newsman was killed this week arsenic they came nether occurrence adjacent the confederate metropolis Kherson.

Vasyl Samokhvalov of RMA paid tribute to Sasha Bondarenko arsenic a antheral who volunteered connected time one: "A quality with a volition of steel. A quality with the clearest motivation. A quality with the champion euphony playlist."

The erstwhile caput of the BBC's Ukrainian Service, Maciek Bernatt-Reszczynski, said the corp was highly fortunate to person him connected the Kyiv team: "It was ever caller challenges with this bonzer man. Including the last, heroic one, to support his state from aggression."

Bondarenko graduated from Luhansk teacher-training assemblage and started his vocation successful journalism astatine a section vigor presumption successful the eastbound of Ukraine, earlier moving for starring Ukrainian TV channels and and past the BBC's Ukrainian Service.

"I look astatine our photos unneurotic and can't halt crying adjacent though I tin lone retrieve our carefree days successful the Kyiv bureau and however we laughed together," said Marta Shokalo, BBC Ukraine's editor-in-chief.

He went connected to enactment arsenic a TV reporter, covering the wide Maidan anti-government protests successful Kyiv successful 2013-14 and aboriginal Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine successful March 2014.

As a autochthonal of eastbound Ukraine his penetration of the complexities of Ukraine's narration with Russia was seen arsenic particularly valuable.

His penetration was particularly invaluable since, arsenic a autochthonal of eastbound Ukraine, helium knew the complexities of Ukraine's narration with Russia.

A keen athlete, helium achieved a long-held ambition of swimming the Bosphorus. His past photograph published connected Facebook was captioned: "Somewhere successful the Kharkiv woods."