Moscow Blames Ukraine for Russian Journalist's Death
Moscow on Tuesday condemned the killing of a Russian state television reporter in Ukraine's separatist east, accusing Kiev of "unleashing terror" against Russian journalists.
Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened an investigation into Igor Kornelyuk's death, while the foreign ministry demanded that Ukraine follow suit.
"We demand that Ukraine's authorities conduct an objective investigation of this tragedy and strictly punish the guilty," the ministry said in a statement.
"We expect global media to decisively and unambiguously condemn yet another crime of Ukrainian forces," said the ministry, accusing the Kiev authorities of "unleashing veritable terror against journalists from Russia."
Korneluyk worked for the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, known by its acronym VGTRK, and was the first Russian journalist to die in Ukraine since fighting broke out in mid-April.
VGTRK said another of its workers, sound technician Anton Voloshin, had gone missing.
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev laid the blame for Korneluyk's death squarely at Kiev's door, saying on Facebook the authorities were "responsible for the situation" and it was "up to them to stop the bloodletting."
Reporters Without Border said Tuesday the violence affecting journalists had reached "unprecedented levels".
Johann Bihr, the head of the watchdog's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk, called for a "full and impartial investigation" to "shed light on his (Korneluyk's) death and the deaths of the other journalists killed in this conflict".
Korneluyk's death brings to four the number of journalists killed in Ukraine since the start of the year to four. More than 200 have been injured or attacked.
Italian photographer Andrea Rocchelli and his fixer, prominent rights activist Andrei Mironov, were killed near Donetsk last month.
Ukrainian reporter Vyacheslav Veremiy was gunned down in Kiev as he covered protests in the Ukranian capital Kiev in February.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed condolences to Korneluyk's family and said his death was "yet another serious warning to all those who expect to achieve military victory in the southeast".
Source: Agence France Presse
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