Russian military journalist Yevgeny Poddubny survives drone attack when traveling to Kursk

Russian military correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny was killed, State Duma deputy Mikhail Delyagin said in a post on his Telegram channel.

"There are reports saying that journalist Yevgeny Poddubny has been killed," the MP wrote without providing any other details of the incident.

On August 7, Yevgeny Poddubny described the situation in the Kursk region, where clashes with the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are taking place. According to him, the situation in the region bordering Ukraine was tense.

"The enemy was active all night trying to transfer additional forces and personnel to the combat zone," he wrote.

War correspondent Alexander Sladkov also said that Poddubny was killed.

According to unconfirmed reports, Poddubny was killed when an FPV drone hit the car in which the journalist was traveling.

• Yevgeny Poddubny was born in 1983 in Belgorod. He received a higher education in psychology. From 2001 to 2011, he worked as a special correspondent in the Directorate of Information Programs of the TV Center TV channel. Since September 2011, Poddubny has been a special correspondent for the Russia-24 TV channel (part of VGTRK). He covered conflicts in a number of countries, including Georgia, South Ossetia, Syria, Abkhazia, and Ukraine.
• Poddubny ran his own Telegram channel, in which he repeatedly covered details of the conflict in Ukraine. For example, in May 2023, among other war correspondents, he reported on the beginning of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
• He served as a trusted person for presidential candidate Vladimir Putin twice — in 2018 and 2024 elections.

Yevgeny Poddubny is alive after the attack

Oleg Tsarev later announced that Poddubny was in a hospital in the Kursk region. State Duma deputy Dmitry Sablin also denied earlier reports about Poddubny's death.

"He is definitely alive! Burns and a head injury! Confirmed by the reception room of the governor of the Kursk region," Oleg Tsarev wrote.

Yevgeny Poddubny is one of the most famous Russian war correspondents. He authored numerous documentaries and special reports. He also serves as the head of the VGTRK (All-Russian Television an Radio Company) bureau in the Middle East and North Africa.