A Russian soldier has been taken into custody after opening fire on fellow servicemen and launching a deadly shooting spree in annexed Crimea, the Moscow-installed governor said Tuesday.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the governor of the southern Crimean city of Sevastopol, said four people were killed in the village of Khmelnitskoye. They included one soldier and three civilians aged 71, 64 and 59.
Four others, including one soldier, were wounded, with Razvozhayev saying that medical personnel were “doing everything possible to save them.”
“The attacker has been detained,” Razvozhayev wrote in a post on Telegram.
The exiled news outlet Agentstvo, citing a screenshot from a local chat group, claimed to have identified the alleged shooter as 21-year-old Maxim Alistratov from southern Russia’s Saratov region. The Moscow Times could not independently verify that report.
The chat group warned residents that the soldier had fled into the woods after shooting at fellow servicemen.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
.