A young man pulls out a gun and shoots at a military worker in a Russian military draft office in Ust-Ilimsk, Siberia. He’s badly injured. It is believed that the mobilization of hundreds of thousands of fighters is the reason for the attack.
A few days after the announcement of partial mobilization in Russia, a man opened fire at a draft center in Siberia, according to the local governor, injuring a serviceman working there. “In Ust-Ilimsk, a young man shot at the military registration and enlistment office,” Igor Kobzev, the governor of the sparsely populated Irkutsk region, told Telegram. The wounded military member was critically injured.
“The shooter was arrested immediately and will definitely be punished,” Kobsev continued. According to the Russian Investigative Committee, the suspect is a 25-year-old resident of the city of Ust-Ilimsk.
“I am ashamed that this is happening at a time when we should rather be united. We must not fight against each other, but against real threats,” Kobsev continued. He gave instructions to strengthen security measures.
Putin announced a partial mobilization of reservists last Wednesday. The decision sparked panic and protests in Russia, with hundreds of people arrested. There have also been numerous arson attacks on military recruitment facilities in recent days. The Belarusian exile medium speaks of 54 such attacks since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, 17 of which are said to have occurred in the last five days alone.
Critics have accused the authorities of concentrating their mobilization efforts in remote areas such as Siberia and the North Caucasus in order to avoid sparking resistance in the urban regions and especially Moscow. There was also criticism that some men were conscripted for military service even though they had no military experience or were already over the age limit.
