Russian soldier kills colleague and three civilians in Crimea shooting rampage

The shooting

A Russian soldier opened fire on his fellow servicemen and then on civilians in the village of Khmelnytske, near Sevastopol in Russian-annexed Crimea, on Tuesday. The Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, said the gunman first attacked his unit, killing one soldier and wounding another. He then turned his weapon on civilians, killing three people at the scene.

“A tragedy in Sevastopol... According to initial information, a soldier opened fire on his fellow soldiers, killing one person, before attacking civilians and killing three of them.”

Three other people were wounded in the rampage. Razvozhayev said medical staff were doing everything possible to save those injured, and it was not immediately clear whether the death toll could rise.

Victims

The civilian dead were identified as two men, aged 71 and 59, and a 64-year-old woman. The fourth fatality was the soldier shot by the attacker before he targeted the village. The identities of the wounded have not been released. Razvozhayev described the incident as a tragedy and urged residents to remain calm.

“All circumstances and causes of the incident are being established.”

Attacker and investigation

The soldier was arrested immediately after the shooting. His name and the branch of the Russian armed forces he served in have not been made public. Local officials have not disclosed any information about a possible motive. Razvozhayev appealed to the public to follow only official channels and not to spread unverified rumours about the attacker's identity or the reasons behind the shooting.

Context

Russia seized and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, a move rejected by most of the international community, which considers the peninsula occupied Ukrainian territory. Russia maintains a large military presence there, and Ukraine has repeatedly targeted the region with drone and missile strikes. Tuesday's shooting did not appear to be directly linked to the wider war, but it occurred against a backdrop of heightened military activity and civilian casualties along the Black Sea coast.