A 16-year-old boy in Russia’s republic of Sakha (Yakutia) was killed after being crushed inside a tank on display at a military exhibition featuring equipment captured during Russia’s war in Ukraine, authorities in the regional capital of Yakutsk said Tuesday.
Preliminary findings showed the teenager was pinned by a heavy, movable metal component of the tank, Yakutsk Mayor Yevgeny Grigoryev said.
Emergency services and investigators were working at the scene, he said in a post on Telegram.
Regional prosecutors said the boy, born in 2009, had entered the tank through a lower hatch when one of the vehicle’s parts fell on him, killing him instantly.
The prosecutor’s office has launched a review into possible safety violations.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top investigative body, said it had opened a criminal case on suspicion of causing death by negligence and had ordered a series of forensic examinations.
Investigators said the teenager died inside what they described as a “technical exhibit” installed at the site.
Local news outlet SakhaDay reported that the teenager and another boy aged 17 had climbed into the tank through an opening in the engine compartment after a panel had been removed.
The 16-year-old reportedly detached a support holding the tank’s gun barrel, which then fell and crushed him.
The incident took place at the “Russia — My History” multimedia park, where an exhibition of military hardware has been on display since November 2025
The exhibition includes what organizers describe as trophy equipment seized by Russian forces during the war in Ukraine, including a U.S.-made Bradley armored vehicle and a Ukrainian armored personnel carrier.
The park’s director previously said Yakutsk hosts the only permanent exhibition of captured military equipment in Russia outside Moscow, calling it a rare opportunity for the region to display such hardware on a long-term basis.
Grigoryev urged parents to ensure children do not play unsupervised around “potentially dangerous objects,” adding that safety checks at public exhibitions would be reviewed.
Read this article in Russian at The Moscow Times' Russian service.
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