MOSCOW, May 13 (RAPSI) - The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on attempted murder following an incident with an RT journalist in Mariupol, Ukraine.

Fyodor Zavaleikov, 23, was injured during a military operation in Mariupol on May 9. He was hospitalized with a severe gunshot wound to the stomach and underwent emergency surgery.

On May 12, Zavaleikov arrived in Moscow on a special FAI-Germany flight. Granted permission to depart from Donetsk, the plane stopped in Dnepropetrovsk, as requested by Ukrainian officials, before it was allowed to enter Russian territory. The injured could not be transported in a Russian plane because Ukraine had closed its airspace to Russian aircraft.

The attack was witnessed by a Mariupol resident who sent photographic evidence to the television channel RT. In the photos showing the RT cameraman before and after the injury, masked individuals in military uniforms carrying firearms can also be seen.

Earlier in an interview with RT, the witness recalled that Zavaleikov was attacked on Heorhiyevska Street not far from the Chief Directorate of Internal Affairs where the military operation took place. The journalist indicated to the uniformed men that he was unarmed and worked for the media. Nevertheless, he was shot when trying to cross the street.