Russia says strike that wounded TV crew in Lebanon not ‘accidental’

Russia condemns the Israeli airstrike injuring RT journalists in Lebanon, calling it deliberate amid ongoing regional conflict.

Russia on Thursday (March 19, 2026) condemned an airstrike that wounded a TV crew from state-run RT in Lebanon as not "accidental", amid ongoing Israeli strikes and ground operations in the south of the country.

Video agency Ruptly -- a subsidiary of RT -- posted footage showing an explosion and plumes of smoke rising through the air metres behind RT's reporter, who was wearing a bulletproof vest with a sign "Press" on it as he delivered an on-air report.

The reporter and a cameraman "were injured in an Israeli attack in southern Lebanon, while they were reporting," Ruptly said on Telegram, adding both were "conscious and receiving medical attention".

"Given the killing of 200 journalists in Gaza, today's events cannot be called accidental," the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, without naming Israel.

"The rocket hit not a 'critical strategic military facility,' but rather the location of a report," Ms. Zakharova added.

The Russian embassy in Lebanon said that "attacks on media workers on editorial assignments are unacceptable" and called for an "appropriate investigation" into the incident.