Zvezda TV channel military correspondent Nikita Goldin died in hospital almost a month after being seriously wounded in a shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) on March 24, 2025. Doctors fought for his life, but were unable to save the journalist. This was reported by Goldin's colleagues and the Zvezda Telegram channel. The tragedy occurred in the village of Mykhailivka in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), where three other Russian journalists were killed as a result of a HIMARS multiple launch rocket system strike on a civilian vehicle: Zvezda cameraman Andrei Panov, crew driver Alexander Sirkeli, and Izvestia MIC correspondent Alexander Fedorchak.

According to the SHOT Telegram channel, the shelling occurred when the journalists were driving in a car near Mykhailivka. The Ukrainian Armed Forces used high-precision HIMARS missiles, striking the car in which the film crew was located. Panov, Sirkeli and Fedorchak died on the spot, and Goldin received multiple shrapnel wounds and was urgently hospitalized. Doctors tried to stabilize his condition for almost a month, but the injuries were too severe.

The incident in Mikhaylovka was one of the most tragic for Russian media during the conflict. The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case under Articles 105 ("Murder"), 144 ("Obstruction of the Lawful Professional Activities of Journalists") and 167 ("Intentional Destruction or Damage to Property") of the Russian Criminal Code. The agency qualified the strike as a targeted attack on members of the press performing their duties. Since the beginning of 2022, at least 15 journalists, including foreign correspondents, have died in the conflict zone, which underlines the high risk of working in frontline zones.

Mykhailivka, located in the Perevalsky district of the LPR, has repeatedly come under fire from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to the LPR administration, since the beginning of 2025, the region has been subjected to HIMARS and drone attacks, which have led to civilian casualties and destruction of infrastructure.