According to reports from law enforcement sources cited by TASS and RIA Novosti, Igor Kornet, the head of the LPR Ministry of Internal Affairs, sustained injuries in a blast at the center of Lugansk.
Officials indicated that his condition was critical and that attempts were made to save him. TASS, citing regional law enforcement, reported that Kornet was in intensive care after the incident.
Initial accounts described the blast as occurring in a barber shop on Dedehina Street, where Kornet was known to be a regular visitor. The explosion reportedly took place on the ground floor of the building housing The Brothers Barbershop, where an explosive device was allegedly placed.
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Marochko of the LPR People’s Militia stated that Kornet’s condition after the attack was stable, noting via Telegram that doctors reported he was alive and in stable condition.
Izvestia cited an unnamed source claiming that Kornet was connected to a respirator and had undergone hours of surgery. The same report described a diagnosis that included hemothorax, closed craniocerebral injury, and concussion, with mine blast injuries and several open wounds on the hands.
What is known about the explosion
Earlier, the deputy head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, confirmed that the explosion occurred in the very center of Lugansk during the mid-afternoon rush. He remarked that there were victims as a result of the blast.
The blast, which happened around 13:30 Moscow time, damaged the windows and doors of the barber shop.
Eyewitnesses described seeing people running into the street and awaiting medical help as responders attended to the injured. A passerby was killed, and three security guards sustained serious injuries, according to new reports.
Officials noted that the attack on Kornet coincided with the civilian casualty, and three of the minister’s bodyguards were reported to be seriously injured.
Several media outlets also reported a wounded youth among those nearby. Following the explosion in Lugansk, prosecutors opened inquiries into potential crimes related to the attack on a law enforcement officer as well as the illegal purchase of explosives.
Who is Igor Kornet?
The injured Kornet was long regarded as a highly effective security figure within the LPR. His past includes work as an inspector in the Ukrainian criminal investigation department and, in August 2014, he led the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the self-proclaimed republic.
In 2017, Igor Plotnitsky, then head of the LPR, dismissed Kornet and charged him with various offenses, including alleged property seizures. Kornet later mobilized security forces to consolidate power in Lugansk, which coincided with Plotnitsky’s departure from the region.
He has faced sanctions from multiple international bodies and countries, including the European Union member states, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Japan, and Ukraine.