On 17 June 2014,

Russian state television Television is the most popular medium in Russia, with 74% of the population watching national television channels routinely and 59% routinely watching regional channels. There are 3300 television channels in total.Metalist,

Slovianoserbsk Raion Slovianoserbsk Raion () was a raion (district) in Luhansk Oblast of eastern Ukraine. It was named after Slavo-Serbia, an imperial Russian province that existed between 1753–64. The raion was abolished on 18 July 2020 as part of the administrativ ...

, Ukraine, while travelling with a group of LPR rebel separatist fighters during the ongoing

war in Donbass War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...

. They were killed in the attack, along with five rebels. Cameraman Viktor Denisov was not injured in the attack. A Ukrainian military pilot,

Nadiya Savchenko Nadiya Viktorivna Savchenko ( uk, Надія Вікторівна Савченко; born 11 May 1981) is a Ukrainian politician, former Army aviation pilot in the Ukrainian Ground Forces and former People's Deputy of Ukraine. During the 2014 ...

, who served as instructor with a volunteer infantry unit,

Aidar Battalion 24th Separate Assault Battalion "Aidar", also known as the Aidar Battalion, is an assault battalion of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The unit took part in the war in Eastern Ukraine and had roughly 300-400 members in 2014. It was named after the ...

, was taken prisoner by the rebel forces at the LPR territory, brought to Russia and convicted to 22 years of imprisonment for allegedly directing the mortar fire and illegal crossing of the Russian border. After two years of imprisonment, she was released in a prisoner swap for two Russian prisoners in Ukraine.

Attack

Igor Kornelyuk

Career

Igor Kornelyuk graduated from the Institute of Culture in St. Petersburg. Since 1998 he worked as a correspondent in "Yamal" and was a leader on the editorial board of children's programs. Kornelyuk was employed as correspondent for Russia state-owned broadcaster VGTRK, and spent a total of 15 years with VGTRK. Kornelyuk worked alongside Anton Voloshin, reporting on events taking place during the pro-Russian conflict in

Eastern Ukraine Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine ( uk, Східна Україна, Skhidna Ukrayina; russian: Восточная Украина, Vostochnaya Ukraina) is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro (or Dnieper) river, particularly Khark ...

Death

After the attack by Ukrainian Forces, Igor Kornelyuk was taken to Luhansk Regional Hospital by pro-Russian separatists. At the hospital Igor was diagnosed with having shrapnel wounds to the abdomen, legs and burns to the face. Igor would die only after 35 minutes in the emergency room. Igor Kornelyuk died on 17 June 2014 in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. Igor Kornelyuk is survived by his wife Catherine Kornelyuk and their young daughter. Family and friends gathered in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

to pay final respects to Kornelyuk.

Anton Voloshin

Career

Anton Voloshin was employed as a

sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproduction, ...

with the Russian state-owned broadcaster VGTRK. Anton worked alongside Igor Kornelyuk, reporting on events taking place during the Pro-Russian conflict in Eastern Ukraine.

Death

Anton Voloshin was killed, 17 June 2014, at the scene of the mortar attack in Metalist, Slovianoserbsk Raion, Ukraine. At first Voloshin was presumed missing, until body remains were later identified by Viktor Denisov, a VGTRK cameraman who was not harmed in the attack.

Detention and conviction of Nadiya Savchenko

After the event, the Russian prosecutors charged Ukrainian

army aviation An army aviation unit is an aviation-related unit of a nation's army, sometimes described as an air corps. These units are generally separate from a nation's dedicated air force, and usually comprise helicopters and light support fixed-wing airc ...

helicopter pilot

(sometimes transliterated as Nadezhda) for assisting in the deaths of Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin. Despite having an

alibi An alibi (from the Latin, '' alibī'', meaning "somewhere else") is a statement by a person, who is a possible perpetrator of a crime, of where they were at the time a particular offence was committed, which is somewhere other than where the crim ...

(she was captured by the rebels one hour before the mortar attack occurred according to billing data of mobile phones), she is accused of informing Ukrainian Forces of the location of the journalists. A guilty verdict was delivered 20 March 2016, and she was sentenced the next day to 22 years. On 25 May 2016, the Ukrainian and Russian governments exchanged prisoners, and Savchenko was released and flown to

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

while two Russian prisoners held in Ukrainian prison were released to Russia.

Impact

The deaths of both Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin add on to a growing list of journalists whom have died on the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatist forces in Donbas, Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since Feb ...

The region of Eastern Ukraine has been regarded as a "trap for journalists". Leading to many to call for action to help protect the lives of journalist in major conflict areas such as in Eastern Ukraine.

Reactions

Dunja Mijatovic,

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

representative on freedom of the media, stated in response to the event, "This death is yet another horrid reminder that not enough is being done to protect journalists who risk their lives reporting from conflict zones in Ukraine". An investigation into the event started by the

Investigative Committee of Russia The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (russian: link=no, Следственный комитет Российской Федерации) has since January 2011 been the main federal investigating authority in Russia. Its name (' ...

, stating that this event as a criminal case.

Russian Prime Minister The chairman of the government of the Russian Federation, also informally known as the prime minister, is the nominal head of government of Russia. Although the post dates back to 1905, its current form was established on 12 December 1993 fo ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

expressed his anger toward the

Ukrainian Government The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine ( uk, Кабінет Міністрів України, translit=Kabinet Ministriv Ukrainy; shortened to CabMin), commonly referred to as the Government of Ukraine ( uk, Уряд України, ''Uriad Ukrai ...

stating that they should be the ones held responsible for the killing. Condemning the killings as "crime of Ukrainian forces".

Irina Bokova Irina Georgieva Bokova ( bg, Ирина Георгиева Бокова; born 12 July 1952) is a Bulgarian politician and the former Director-General of UNESCO (2009–2017). During her political and diplomatic career in Bulgaria, she served, a ...

, director-general of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, on 19 June 2014, denounced the killing of Russian journalist Igor Kornelyuk and sound engineer Anton Voloshin. Bokova said, "I am deeply shocked by the death of journalists Igor Kornelyuk, and Anton Voloshin. I call on all parties to respect the civilian status of journalists and let them carry out their important professional activities in safe conditions in keeping with the Geneva Convention and its Protocols."

Ukrainian President The president of Ukraine ( uk, Президент України, Prezydent Ukrainy) is the head of state of Ukraine. The president represents the nation in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the state, condu ...

Petro Poroshenko Petro Oleksiyovych Poroshenko ( uk, Петро́ Олексі́йович Пороше́нко, ; born 26 September 1965) is a Ukrainian businessman and politician who served as the fifth president of Ukraine from 2014 to 2019. Poroshenko ser ...

promised an investigation into the deaths of the journalists. In a conversation with

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...

, Poroshenko expressed his condolences to the families of the journalist.

Awards

Both Igor Kornelyuk and Anton Voloshin were awarded with a medal of courage by the Russian government.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kornelyuk and Voloshin 1977 births 2014 deaths Journalists killed while covering the war in Donbas People from Zaporizhzhia Recipients of the Order of Courage Russian journalists June 2014 events

Attack

Igor Kornelyuk

Career

Death

Anton Voloshin

Career

Death

Detention and conviction of Nadiya Savchenko

Impact

Reactions

Awards

See also

References