TV journalist wounded in eastern Ukraine

On April 14, 2015, in Shyrokyne, a village in eastern Ukraine, local journalist Andrei Lunyov was wounded after accidentally triggering a trip wire that led to an explosion, regional and international press reported.

Lunyov, who works for the TV channel Zvezda, which is affiliated with the Russian defense ministry, had traveled to Shyrokyne to cover a visit by monitors of the Vienna-based Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) who were observing the implementation of a ceasefire by parties of the conflict. The journalist’s name is also spelled as “Lunev” in news reports.

OSCE medics provided emergency treatment to the journalist, who was then sent to a hospital in the town of Novoazovsk, reports said. Lunyov was treated for multiple shrapnel wounds in his head, face, chest, and legs, according to Zvezda. The broadcaster said the journalist would be taken to Russia for treatment.

In the Zvezda footage, which was recorded prior to the explosion, Lunyov appears not to be wearing either a protective helmet or vest. In another video, recorded immediately after the explosion and published by Zvezda, Lunyov is seen being carried to safety by two camouflage-clad men. He is not wearing any protective gear in that video either.

Other journalists working for the Russian media have been seriously wounded or killed in eastern Ukraine due to their lack of protective gear, according to CPJ research. In June 2014, Russian journalists Anatoly Klyan and Igor Kornelyuk, and sound engineer Anton Voloshin–working for the state-owned broadcasters Pervy Kanal and VGTRK–were killed by shrapnel and bullets in eastern Ukraine. They were not wearing protective gear at the time, news reports said.