Russian 'Deserter' Massacred Fellow Soldiers Before Going AWOL

A Russian deserter massacred fellow soldiers before fleeing, according to Telegram channels.

The military serviceman, who was stationed in Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, shot dead two of his comrades and wounded another on July 11 before he deserted his unit with a weapon, the Baza and Shot Telegram channels reported Friday.

The VChK-OGPU outlet, which purports to have inside information from Russian security forces, said that the shooting occurred while the servicemen were drinking alcohol.

"According to preliminary information, two servicemen insulted a fellow soldier, who first gave them a warning, and when the mockery was repeated, he responded by killing them with a machine gun and hiding," it said on Telegram, adding that "the killer is currently being sought."

Baza reported that the Russian soldier fled with a Kalashnikov machine gun and 70 rounds of ammunition, "but the weapon was presumably found not far from the scene of the incident."

State-owned news network Russia Today (RT) said Friday its source confirmed that there are casualties as a result of a shooting incident at a military unit in the Belgorod region.

"The attacker is charged under two articles: desertion and attempted murder," RT reported on its Telegram channel. "According to preliminary information, the man fled his military unit due to a domestic conflict."

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Desertion has been an issue for Russia's military throughout President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In November 2022, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defence said Kremlin generals may have sanctioned the use of weapons against deserters, "including possibly authorizing shooting to kill such defaulters after a warning had been given."

The offence carries a 10-year jail term. In February, a Russian anti-war project named Get Lost, which was created to help Russia's men evade or escape conscription in Ukraine, said cases of desertion from the military increased tenfold this year.

In April, Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) said that more than 18,000 Russian servicemen of the Southern Military District had fled their posts since the war began. Around 12,000 of them belonged to the 8th Guards Combined Arms Army, a unit "which the enemy constantly engages in hostilities in the east of Ukraine," HUR said on Telegram.

Some 2,500 troops have deserted the Russian 58th Guards Combined Arms Army, the HUR added. Newsweek has yet to verify these figures.

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