Russia’s Ministry of Defense said that at least 11 people were killed and another 15 wounded Saturday in a mass shooting at a military training base near Belgorod in southeastern Russia, close to the Ukrainian border. The two attackers were killed in return fire.
The Ministry of Defense told reporters that the two attackers were citizens of one of the countries in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The ministry described it as a “terrorist attack.”
CIS was formed in 1991 after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It groups Russia and eight other former Soviet republics — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazkhstan, Kyrgyzstan. Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The official TASS news agency wrote::
"On October 15, two citizens of a CIS country committed an act of terror at a training range of the Western Military District in the Belgorod Region,” the ministry said.
The Russian Defense Ministry said that the terrorists opened fire using small arms at the unit’s military personnel during a shooting training session, which was attended by those willing to take part in the special military operation.
"As a result of the shooting, eleven people were mortally wounded. Another 15 people suffered different wounds and were taken to a medical facility, where they are being provided with any aid required," the ministry said, adding that both terrorists were killed in return fire.
Law enforcement agencies are working at the site.
The Ministry of Defense did not specify where the attack took place.
The independent Russian Telegram channel SOTA said the attack took place at a training facility in the small town of Soloti, close to the Ukrainian border and about 65 miles southeast of Belgorod.
The newspaper Kommersant said that according to preliminary data, the victims were “volunteers from Bryansk,” which is about 235 miles southwest of Moscow.
Kommersant reported that a criminal case has been opened on charges of mass murder, and a charge of committing a terrorist attack may be added. The case is expected to be transferred to Russia’s main military investigation department.
The Russian media reports did not mention anything about a motive for the attack.
But Reuters reported:
Oleksiy Arestovych, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said in a YouTube interview that the attackers were from the Central Asian nation of Tajikistan and had opened fire on the others after an argument over religion.
….
Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the comments by Arestovych, a prominent commentator on the war who appears in the media on an almost daily basis.
Tajikistan is a predominantly Muslim country in Central Asia and a former Soviet republic.
Even in peacetime, there are regular reports of new recruits being subjected to hazing, theft, sexual assault and other abuses.at training camps.
Conditions have been worse since Russia announced a “partial mobilization” with thousands of recruits turning up at poorly equipped training centers. Recruits have posted videos in which they spoke about a lack of uniforms, shelter, sleeping bags, food and water. Soldiers have resorted to getting supplies from their families or even stealing from other recruits
In September, TASS reported that President Vladimir Putin had signed a law stipulating that foreigners serving in the Russian army can apply for Russian citizenship without presenting a residence permit.
The report said that foreigners who have signed a contract with the Russian Armed Forces for at least a year are eligible for this procedure.