A Ukraine war veteran killed a woman in the Siberian city of Irkutsk after taking her hostage, the head of a local women’s shelter where the incident took place said early Wednesday.
Alexander Sobolev, who manages a non-profit called Obereg, said the war veteran’s wife and seven-year-old son were residents of a women’s shelter his organization runs.
According to him, the veteran, whom he did not identify by name, took another woman staying at the shelter hostage for around five hours before killing her with a knife.
Local law enforcement authorities have not commented on the incident.
Sobolev said that dozens of police officers and emergency responders went to the scene of the hostage taking to try to negotiate the release of the woman. He accused the authorities of making several mistakes in their handling of the situation and called for an investigation.
Telegram news channels with links to Russia’s security services claimed the woman who was killed was a friend of the war veteran’s wife. He allegedly took the woman hostage after learning that Obereg had reported him to the police for domestic abuse.
According to Sobolev, the war veteran phyiscally abused and harassed his wife before she sought protection at Obereg’s shelter. He said the man had fled from his military unit in the Rostov region, though military officials have not made any statements about the killing in Irkutsk that would confirm that account.
“A serious problem is emerging in our society,” Sobolev said in a social media post. “Psychopaths, abusers and murderers are increasingly hiding behind their participation in the war and committing horrific acts while feeling untouchable.”
“This is a deeply alarming trend. Society must honor heroes, but it must not grant impunity to criminals,” he added.
Since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russian courts have convicted war veterans for the deaths or injuries of more than 1,000 people inside Russia.
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