Missing Ukrainian photojournalist found dead near Kyiv

Ukrainian photojournalist and documentary filmmaker Maks Levin, who went missing on March 13 while working on the frontlines near the capital Kyiv, has been found dead, according to Ukraine's presidential aide Andriy Yermak on Saturday. 

"He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhygirska on April 1," Yermak said on Telegram.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser and former deputy minister at the Interior Ministry, also confirmed on Telegram that Levin, 40, went missing over two weeks ago when he was reporting in the Vishgorod district, the area of intense fighting.

"He left four minor sons, a wife, and elderly parents," he added.

"Unarmed" Levin was killed with "two shots from small arms" of Russian troops, said the Institute of Mass Information, a Ukrainian independent NGO, referring to the preliminary report by the country's prosecutor's office.

Levin, accompanied by Oleksiy Chernyshov, a serviceman and former photographer, went to Guta Mezhygirska on March 13 "to document the consequences of the Russian aggression," said Ukrainian media outlet LB.ua, for which Levin worked for over 10 years.

"They left the car and went in the direction of Moshchun village. Since then, there was no contact with both men. Later, it became known that intense combat action started in the area where Maks Levin was going to work. The location and fate of Oleksiy Chernyshow are currently unknown," it added.

Levin had also been working with the international media, with most of his documentaries about the war in Ukraine.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the EU, US, and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,276 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 1,981 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.