11 dead, 15 wounded after Russian recruits point guns at fellow soldiers

Moscow: Two men opened fire on soldiers at a Russian military firing range near Ukraine, killing 11 and wounding 15, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement on Saturday (European time) that the shooting took place in the Belgorod region of southwestern Russia, which borders Ukraine. Two of his men, from an unnamed former Soviet republic, opened fire on volunteers during a shooting practice and were killed in a counterattack, he said.

The ministry called the incident a terrorist attack.

The shooting came amid a hasty mobilization ordered by President Vladimir Putin to reinforce Russian forces in Ukraine. The move sparked protests and caused hundreds of thousands to flee Russia.

Putin said on Friday that more than 220,000 reservists had already been called up as part of an effort to recruit 300,000. He promised that the mobilization would be completed in two weeks.

Mobilization was plagued from the start as authorities gave mixed signals about who should be called up in a country where almost all men under the age of 65 are listed as reservists.

Russia’s leader has declared that only those who have recently served in the military will be eligible for conscription, but activists and human rights groups have reported that the conscription office has rounded up people with no military experience. for medical reasons.

Some freshly called up reservists posted videos of being forced to sleep on the floor or outdoors and given rusty weapons before being sent to the front lines.