1/ The independent Russian media outlet ASTRA has published an interview with a claimed eyewitness of the mass shooting yesterday at a Russian army training facility. He says that the shooting arose from a dispute between Muslim and Christian soldiers. Translation below. ⬇️
2/ "ASTRA journalists were able to speak to a serviceman who claims to have been wounded during a shooting at the Soloti training range in the Belgorod region and saw the incident with his own eyes. The soldier is currently in hospital in the town of Valuyki.
3/ ASTRA is not publishing the soldier's name, for the sake of his safety.
IMPORTANT: At the time of publication, we were unable to independently confirm the identity of either the narrator himself or the identities of others who appear in the story.
IMPORTANT: At the time of publication, we were unable to independently confirm the identity of either the narrator himself or the identities of others who appear in the story.
4/ "It all started when some of our soldiers - a Dagestani, an Azerbaijani and an Adyghe - said that 'this is not our war' and tried to write a report saying that they did not want to serve anymore.
5/ Lieutenant Colonel Andrei Lapin, when he learned this through the company commander, gathered everyone and started to say that "this is a holy war." Everything happened in the morning at the parade ground, where the formation takes place, the anthem is sung.
6/ A conflict broke out, people started pushing each other, including a few from my company.
The Tajiks told Lapin that a holy war meant [only] a war between Muslims and infidels.
The Tajiks told Lapin that a holy war meant [only] a war between Muslims and infidels.
7/ Lapin said that "Allah must be a coward if he does not allow you to fight for the country to which you took an oath". I personally think that's what hurt the most, the phrase that "Allah is a coward".
8/ The phrase shocked a lot of people - those who were standing there on the parade-ground. Because we also have Muslims among our officers, both Bashkirs and Tatars.
9/ After the formation, the Russians and Muslims continued the conflict, after which everyone dispersed and, it seems, calmed down.
10/ And an hour and a half later, around lunch time, they sent us all to the firing ranges, and three of the Tajiks, who were on contract service, brought their automatic rifles, they had live ammunition, and shot our commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lapin, he died on the spot.
11/ And they started shooting indiscriminately. At the range there were both contract servicemen and mobilised. I saw only the dead, of whom there were 29 people. The 30th is Lieutenant Colonel Lapin.
12/ This does not include two of the Tajiks; counting them too, there were 32 killed. I do not know exactly how many are wounded, some of them have already been taken by helicopter to Belgorod, and some of them are in Valuyki now with me.
13/ Two or three minutes before the shooting started, we Muslims were told to step aside. I remember the names of the shooters: Bikzot - he is a senior sergeant, another - Anushe, and a third - junior sergeant Ami. I don't remember their [sur]names. Junior sergeant Ami got away.
14/ Ensign Semyonov killed two of the shooters. At that moment Semenov was in the room where the boxes of ammunition are kept, where we get them. He had his own combat pistol, he was not present during the shooting, he heard what was going on, came out and shot both Tajiks.
15/ He also hit Ami in the shoulder, but Ami managed to escape. He crossed the wire where the fence was, it wasn't even a fence, but a bent wire - this is the place some people used to go into the city when it was impossible to get through the checkpoint.
16/ There was such an embankment, he just stepped over it, to put it crudely. We were told he was still on the run, they hadn't caught him.
17/ The Tajiks in particular [who opened fire] were fierce supporters of their faith. They were constantly arguing because they were not allowed to do namaz [prayers] on time and they were not given a prayer room," the young man said. /end
Source:
t.me/astrapress/141…
t.me/astrapress/141…
The Lapin family hasn't had a good war. The late Lt Col Lapin was awarded a medal in March by his father, Col Gen Lapin, for 'liberating Chernihiv oblast'. The elder Lapin was widely blamed for the disastrous Russian defeat east of Kharkiv last month.
https://twitter.com/maxfras/status/1521935779366420480
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