11 People Died In Shooting At Military Training Center, Russia Holds Investigation

JAKARTA - Russia is launching a criminal investigation after 11 people were killed in a shooting at a military training ground near the Ukrainian border, authorities said on Sunday.

Russia's RIA news agency, citing the Russian Defense Ministry, said two gunmen opened fire with small arms during a firearms drill on Saturday, targeting personnel who had volunteered to fight in Ukraine. The RIA said the gunmen, referred to as "terrorists," were shot dead.

The incident in the southwestern Belgorod region is the latest blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's special military operations in Ukraine. It came a week after explosions damaged a bridge connecting mainland Russia to Crimea, the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014, citing Reuters October 17.

Russia's Defense Ministry said the attackers were from the former Soviet republic, without elaborating. A senior Ukrainian official, Oleksiy Arestovych, said the two men, from the Republic of Tajikistan, carried out the shooting after an argument over religion.

Meanwhile, Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said no local residents were among those killed or injured.

Two witnesses later told Reuters they had seen Russian air defense systems repelling air strikes in Belgorod.

However, the comments of Arestovych, a prominent commentator on the war could not be confirmed, or independently verified the casualty toll and other details.

"As a result of the incident at the shooting range in the Belgorod region, 11 people died from gunshot wounds and 15 were injured," Russia's Investigative Committee said, without giving further details.

Several independent Russian media reported that the toll was higher than the official figure.