A serving member of the armed forces has killed four people in Russian occupied Crimea, according to the Moscow appointed head of the region, in a shooting that local authorities said was under investigation.
Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian installed governor of Sevastopol, said the attacker first opened fire on fellow military personnel, killing one soldier and injuring another. He then allegedly shot three civilians in the village of Khmelnytske.
The civilian victims were identified by officials only by age and gender: two men aged 71 and 59, and a woman aged 64. Three other people were reported injured in the incident.
Razvozhayev said the suspect had been detained. He did not name the soldier, identify his unit, or state which branch of the Russian armed forces he served in. Officials said the motive remained unclear.
The regional leader said medical staff were working to treat those wounded, but local authorities had not provided a detailed account of the severity of their injuries. It was not immediately clear whether the death toll could rise.
In a public statement, Razvozhayev urged residents to rely on official information and avoid circulating unverified claims about the attacker or the circumstances of the shooting. No independent account of the incident was immediately available.
The shooting took place in Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula seized and annexed by Russia in 2014. Moscow’s annexation is rejected by Ukraine and by most of the international community, which continues to regard Crimea as occupied Ukrainian territory.
Russia has maintained a substantial military presence across Crimea since the annexation. The peninsula has become an important base for Russian operations in the Black Sea and in the wider war against Ukraine.
Crimea has also come under repeated Ukrainian drone and missile attacks during the conflict, with Kyiv targeting Russian military infrastructure, logistics sites and naval assets. Russian appointed officials regularly report air defence activity and security incidents in the territory.
The reported shooting, however, was described by local officials as a criminal incident involving a member of the armed forces rather than as an attack linked to Ukrainian operations. The authorities have not released evidence pointing to a broader security threat.
Cases involving serving personnel can be difficult to assess independently in Russian controlled territory, where access for international media and outside investigators is heavily restricted. Public information is usually issued through Russian state bodies or Moscow appointed local administrations.
The investigation is expected to examine how the soldier obtained and used his weapon, whether the shootings were planned, and what immediate circumstances preceded the attack. Officials have not said when further details will be released.
The deaths add to the strain on a region that has been heavily militarised since 2014 and has become more exposed to wartime security measures since Russia’s full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. For local residents, the incident is likely to intensify concern over both public safety and the conduct of armed personnel stationed in the territory.
