A cameraman of a local news outlet has been critically wounded during military drills in the Ukrainian city of Krivoy Rog. The injured journalist is said to have volunteered to play the role of an adversary and was subsequently shot in the neck, suffering serious spinal injuries.
“According to preliminary data, during a demonstrative exercise on capturing a mock perpetrator, the journalist received a gunshot wound of his neck due to negligent use of firearm on part of an instructor who led the training,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Some details of the incident have been released by the local Perviy Krivorozhskiy news outlet, where the injured cameraman, Vyacheslav Volk, works. The military reportedly called for a volunteer from the public to play a role of a “provocateur” infiltrating the local council.
The cameraman volunteered and the servicemen proceeded to “hone their skills on him,” according to the report.
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A video of the drill that preceded the shooting incident was published by Pervy Gorodskoy. Volk can be seen violently slammed to the ground, then handcuffed and led inside a building.
A few moments later, a “sound, resembling a gunshot” was heard from inside the building and a serviceman rushed out calling for an ambulance.
The news outlet also posted a CCTV video of what was happening inside the building Volk was taken into.
The wounded man was rushed to a local hospital and operated on. The cameraman sustained a gunshot wound to his neck which damaged his spinal cord, the editor-in-chief of Perviy Krivorozhskiy told news website Strana.ua. The man remains unconscious in the intensive care unit, according to a statement issued by the news outlet.