2 Russian soldiers turned their guns on fellow recruits, killing 11 and injuring 15 at a training base, say reports

Russian servicemen take part in military exercises at the Uspenovskyi training ground outside the city of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Russia, on September 4, 2022.

Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

• Russian authorities said that 11 people were killed and 15 injured in a shooting at a military training site.
• The incident took place during a firearms training class for volunteer soldiers. 
• The two shooters, from an unspecified former Soviet republic, were killed at the scene. 

Eleven Russian soldiers have been shot dead at a military training center, Russian news outlet RIA news agency has announced, citing the Russian Defense Ministry. 

News reports state that 11 people were killed and 15 injured during a firearms training class involving volunteer soldiers. 

The two shooters were killed at the scene. The attackers were nationals from an unspecified former Soviet republic, Reuters reported.

"During a firearms training session with individuals who voluntarily expressed a desire to participate in the special military operation (against Ukraine), the terrorists opened fire with small arms on the personnel of the unit," RIA cited a defense ministry statement as saying, per Reuters.

Governor of Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said, "A terrible event happened on our territory, on the territory of one of the military units.

"Many soldiers were killed and wounded. There are no residents of the Belgorod region among the wounded and killed,' Gladkov said in a video post on the Telegram messaging app, per Reuters.

Russia's Belgorod region shares a border with eastern Ukraine.

The mass shooting is the latest blow to Putin's attempt to revive his military campaign in Ukraine. There have been multiple reports of a demoralized, ill-equipped force, with the recent partial mobilization recruiting minors, the elderly, and the sick. 

The training camp incident came as the Russian president indicated the mobilization of 300,000 soldiers was a success on Friday.

At a press conference in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Putin said 16,000 mobilized troops were fighting in Ukraine, and 220,000 had been drafted, reported The Guardian.

Western officials currently estimate that of the 150,000 Russian soldiers that invaded Ukraine on February 24, 70,000 to 80,000 have been killed or wounded as of August, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

 

 

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