French photojournalist killed by drone in Ukraine, war crimes probe

Antoni Lallican, a 37-year-old French photojournalist, was killed on Friday morning in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region when a drone struck near the front line, French prosecutors and Ukrainian authorities said. The attack occurred at about 9:20 a.m. local time while Lallican was embedded with Ukrainian forces, and a Ukrainian photographer accompanying him, Heorhii Ivanchenko, was wounded, officials said.

French prosecutors on Sunday opened a war crimes investigation and assigned it to the Central Office for the Fight against Crimes against Humanity and Hate Crimes, part of the country’s anti-terror unit. The office said the inquiry covers deliberate attacks on the life and physical or mental integrity of persons protected under international humanitarian law. Ukrainian authorities and President Emmanuel Macron said they hold Russian forces responsible for the strike; the circumstances remain under investigation.

Ukraine’s military unit that reported the incident said the journalists came under a targeted attack by a first-person-view, or FPV, drone. The unit said both men were wearing protective gear marked Press and described the strike as a violation of international...