Russian Reporter Supporting Putin Wearing 'Z Military Uniform' Dies After Stepping on Landmine

Area Recently Targeted by Frequent Ukrainian Drone and Artillery Attacks

A Russian state journalist who publicly supported Russia's invasion of Ukraine and worked as a war correspondent reportedly died after stepping on a landmine.

According to foreign media reports including the New York Post on the 26th (local time), Anna Prokopyeva (35), a correspondent for the Russian state TV channel 'Channel 1,' died after stepping on a landmine while driving a vehicle in the Belgorod region of Russia. The cameraman accompanying her was reported to have sustained serious injuries.

Russian war correspondent Anna Prokopyeva. Telegram capture

Channel 1, where Prokopyeva worked, issued an official statement saying, "Reporter Prokopyeva died while carrying out her duties." The area Prokopyeva was passing through is known to have recently been targeted by Ukrainian forces retreating from Kursk Oblast with drone and artillery attacks.

Prokopyeva reportedly worked as a war correspondent covering the Russia-Ukraine war since 2023, about one year after Russia's invasion. She was known to have publicly supported Russian President Vladimir Putin. She also posted photos on social media wearing military uniforms alongside Russian tanks and soldiers to boost morale.

Moreover, during the invasion, she wore the letter 'Z' mark?used by Russian forces on tanks, armored vehicles, and uniforms?on her clothing. Due to her repeated exposure of such appearances, locals referred to her as the 'Z journalist.'

Shortly before her death, she posted a photo of herself dressed in combat gear on the closed SNS Telegram with the caption "Somewhere on the border of country 404." While '404' is commonly known as a web page error code, pro-Putin Russian netizens often use it as a derogatory slang term for Ukraine. The '404' mentioned by Prokopyeva is interpreted as a taunt aimed at the Ukrainian forces retreating from Kursk Oblast.

Meanwhile, according to the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), more than 20 journalists have died in the Ukraine war since Russia's invasion in February 2022.