Borysfen Brigade Press Officer Volodymyr Obertas Killed in Kherson

Volodymyr Obertas, a press officer with Ukraine's Borysfen Brigade, has been killed in Kherson. He was a native of Oleshky, a city that remains under Russian occupation.

The news was reported by Army TV, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's media outlet, and by Dmytro Voronov, the former mayor of Oleshky. According to the reports, Obertas died when Russian forces remotely detonated an explosive device. At the time, he was assisting journalists with their work.

Before joining the military, Obertas was a well-known photographer and videographer. He filmed celebrations in kindergartens and schools, weddings and city events in his hometown.

Voronov paid tribute to his former colleague. "Almost everyone in Oleshky probably knew him, because it would have been hard to find a better photographer and videographer," he said. Obertas worked in Voronov's press centre and, in the former mayor's words, was always cheerful and friendly. Voronov described him as a true master of his craft who even taught him the basics of video editing and much more.

The two men often discussed camera angles and where to place cutaways and emphasis so that a video would be more emotional and move the viewer, Voronov recalled. He added that people eagerly awaited each new work by Obertas on YouTube.

Obertas had been involved in defending Ukraine since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion. Ukrainian serviceman Oleksandr Tsehelnyk said that on the very first day of the war, Obertas helped defenders hide their weapons and evacuated them. This, Tsehelnyk said, paved the way for their later withdrawal from the left bank of the Dnipro River to the right bank.

In the armed forces, Obertas first operated drones. He later joined the press service of the 34th Separate Marine Brigade, which is also known as Borysfen. In that role he helped document events at the front line and accompanied journalists to frontline hotspots.

In a separate report on losses, Ukrainska Pravda earlier noted that Oleksandr "Silhouette" Chyzhov, a 21-year-old student and serviceman from Kyiv Oblast, was killed in action.