Gunman Detained after Shooting at Russian Draft Office in Siberia

A Russian service member stands next to a mobile recruitment center for military service. Reuters
A Russian service member stands next to a mobile recruitment center for military service. Reuters
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Gunman Detained after Shooting at Russian Draft Office in Siberia

A Russian service member stands next to a mobile recruitment center for military service. Reuters
A Russian service member stands next to a mobile recruitment center for military service. Reuters

A gunman was detained after opening fire at a military draft office in Russia's Irkutsk region on Monday, the local governor said.

The gunman, who in a video published on social media is seen identifying himself to police officers as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin, opened fire at a draft office in the Siberian town of Ust-Ilimsk. A separate video of the shooting shows him firing at least one shot inside the draft office.

Reuters was unable to verify the videos.

Irkutsk regional governor Igor Kobzev wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the draft office head was in hospital in a critical condition, and that the detained shooter "will absolutely be punished".

Separately, local media reported that a man attempted to set himself on fire at a bus station in the city of Ryazan, about 185 km (115 miles) southeast of Moscow, shouting that he did not want to fight in Ukraine. He was taken away in an ambulance.

A number of draft offices have been attacked since Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilization last Wednesday to bolster Russian forces in Ukraine.

Protests against the draft took place over the weekend in the regions of Dagestan and Yakutia, both of which have supplied disproportionate numbers of soldiers for the war.

Rights group OVD-Info said that at least 101 people were detained on Sunday in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala, in a rare example of mass dissent in the usually tightly controlled North Caucasian region.



Türkiye’s Erdogan to Discuss Ukraine War with NATO Chief

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024 (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024 (Reuters)
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Türkiye’s Erdogan to Discuss Ukraine War with NATO Chief

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024 (Reuters)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024 (Reuters)

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the latest developments in the Russia-Ukraine war with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Monday during his visit to Ankara, a Turkish official said on Sunday.
Russia struck Ukraine with a new hypersonic medium-range ballistic missile on Thursday in response to Kyiv's use of US and British missiles against Russia, marking an escalation in the war that began when Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor in February 2022.
NATO member Türkiye, which has condemned the Russian invasion, says it supports Ukraine's territorial integrity and it has provided Kyiv with military support.
But Türkiye, a Black Sea neighbor of both Russia and Ukraine, also opposes Western sanctions against Moscow, with which it shares important defense, energy and tourism ties.
On Wednesday, Erdogan opposed a US decision to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to attack inside Russia, saying it would further inflame the conflict, according to a readout shared by his office.
Moscow says that by giving the green light for Ukraine to fire Western missiles deep inside Russia, the US and its allies are entering into direct conflict with Russia. On Tuesday, Putin approved policy changes that lowered the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons in response to an attack with conventional weapons.
During their talks on Monday, Erdogan and Rutte will also discuss the removal of defense procurement obstacles between NATO allies and the military alliance's joint fight against terrorism, the Turkish official said.