Kornelyuk, 37, correspondent for the Russian state-owned broadcaster VGTRK, died at a local hospital in Lugansk, eastern Ukraine, from wounds he sustained in a mortar attack near the village of Metallist, Russian and international media reported.
Russian media reported that Kornelyuk and his VGTRK colleagues, sound engineer Anton Voloshin and cameraman Viktor Denisov, had traveled to Metallist to film local residents’ flight from the conflict area. Reports said that after the crew arrived at a separatists’ improvised checkpoint, they separated: Kornleyuk and Voloshin walked with a group of separatists, while Denisov stayed with the residents. The shelling began a few minutes later, severely wounding Kornleyuk and killing Voloshin, VGTRK said. Denisov was unharmed.
Separatists took Kornelyuk to a local hospital, where he was treated for his wounds, but he died during surgery.
The Russian service of the U.S. government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty citing witnesses reported that none of the VGTRK crew members were wearing protective gear.
Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko issued a statement calling for a thorough investigation of the attack.