Dear Friends

The Ukrainian journalist Maks Levin was found dead in a forest north of Kyiv on 1 April. He was not wearing any uniform and he was not armed.

As no investigation had been carried out to shed light on this tragedy, we decided to send our own team there to investigate the very suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Our team included the French war photographer Patrick Chauvel, who had worked with Maks Levin and knew him well.

The burned body of the friend who was with Levin at the time, the bullet impacts on his car, the indications of a summary execution... our observations and interviews, and the material evidence gathered at the crime scene led us to conclude that Levin was executed in cold blood by Russian forces, probably after a violent interrogation.

The report of our investigation is chilling. It sheds a harsh light on the circumstances of Levin's death, and reflects the barbarity and relentlessness with which journalists have been victims since the start of this war.

This investigation will be decisive in any future prosecution of this heinous crime’s perpetrators. We could not have done it without you. Thank you for helping us to take action. Your donations support justice, protection and freedom for journalists.