A ritual worker picks up the body of a killed Russian soldier before loading them to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 22, 2022.
A ritual worker picks up the body of a killed Russian soldier before loading them to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine May 22, 2022. Reuters / STRINGER

KEY POINTS

  • Both the drunk soldier and the senior officer were recently mobilized
  • The senior officer died on the spot due to injuries sustained from the beating
  • The Russian soldier may face between five and 15 years in prison

A drunk Russian conscript had beaten a senior military officer to death just a day before Christmas Eve, according to a report.

The incident, which occurred on Dec. 23, happened in a compartment of a staff carriage of a military train at Misyash station in Russia's Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russian publication Mgorsk.ru reported, as per a translation via Google Translate. The identities of the soldier and the senior officer were not revealed.

The outlet noted that both the soldier and the senior officer were recently mobilized. The senior officer died on the spot due to injuries sustained from the beating.

Russia has since opened a criminal case against the soldier under the article on "violent actions against a senior officer committed during a mobilization period." The soldier may face between five and 15 years in prison.

There have been a number of reports of Russian conscripts killing their comrades amid the war in Ukraine.

In early December, a soldier who was dressed in camouflage opened fire with a machine gun, wounding a police officer. The man was later identified as Pavel Nikolin, one of the prisoners recruited by the infamous Wagner mercenary group from a Russian penal colony.

Nikolin was serving a prison sentence for theft and robbery when he was recruited by the Wagner group. He later changed his mind and fled, according to the Kremlin-aligned publication RIA Novosti.

In the same month, a newly drafted Russian soldier was killed during training after his comrade lost control of an automatic grenade launcher while practicing firing anti-tank weaponry, news outlet Ostorozhno Novosti reported.

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In September, a Russian gunman opened fire at a draft office in Siberia after his close friend received a draft notice despite having no prior combat experience amid the partial mobilization. A recruitment officer was wounded in the attack.

Over the summer, it was reported that a Russian tank commander deliberately drove his T-90 tank toward a group of Russian national guard troops and blew up the checkpoint after getting into an argument on the battlefield. The event happened in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Ukrainian servicemen loading bodies of Russian soldiers
Ukrainian servicemen load bodies of killed Russian soldiers to a refrigerated rail car, as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues, at a compound of a morgue in Kharkiv, Ukraine STRINGER/Reuters
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