Russian soldiers wait for their departure close to the Paveletsky railway terminal in central Moscow on Oct. 16. Photo: Yuri Kadobnov/AFP via Getty Images
Two gunmen opened fire on a group of Russian military recruits at a training ground in Belgorod, Russia, on Saturday, killing 11 people and wounding another 15, CNN reported, citing Russian state news agency TASS.
Driving the news: Russian authorities have labeled the incident an act of terrorism, and on Sunday Russia's Investigative Committee announced that it was opening a criminal investigation into the matter.
- Russia's Defense Ministry has said the two gunmen were from a former Soviet republic but did not offer further details, per the BBC.
- "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," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement, the BBC reported, citing state news agency Ria.
- “As a result of a terrorist attack at a military training ground in the Belgorod region, 11 people were killed, 15 were injured and are receiving medical assistance,” TASS reported.
- The two gunmen were killed in retaliatory fire at the training ground, per CNN.
The big picture: Last month Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilization" of an estimated 300,000 Russian citizens for the country's war in Ukraine.
- The move was met with protests, attacks on military recruiting sites and a flood of Russian men attempting to flee the country to evade conscription.
- The Kremlin acknowledged last month that there had been some "errors" in how the draft recruitment had been carried out.
- Earlier this month,, Russia announced that 200,000 people had already been drafted into the army since the announcement of the mobilization, per Reuters.