Starlight Media director of photography turned serviceman, Denys Ponomarenko, has been killed in action, reported Starlight Media, where Ponomarenko had worked since 2009.

Denys died on September 7 while performing a combat mission in Kharkiv oblast.

Denys was a cameraman and director of photography for many projects including Psychic Challenge, X Factor, Ukraine Got Talent, Everybody Dance, Phenomenon, CUBE, Lie Detector, Hearts of Three, Mole, Psychics On The Case until 2021.

In February 2022, at the very onset of the Russian invasion, Denys voluntarily enlisted and became the commander of a mortar crew. He received two honorary awards.

Denys is survived by his son and wife, Inna Zykova, editor for the projects Supermama and Love: Survival Mode.

According to the Institute of Mass Information, Denys Ponomarenko is the 110th media worker to die in the course of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

As reported earlier, Oleksandr Holyachenko, former Kyiv FM and Nash Kyiv journalist turned servicemember, was killed in action in Zaporizhzhia oblast on 3 September 2025.