Law enforcement authorities in the Siberian republic of Tyva arrested a military police officer suspected of beating wounded soldiers before their deployment to Ukraine, Russian media reported Monday, citing the defense ministry.
Videos shared earlier on social media by pro-war bloggers showed a man in a Russian military police uniform striking two soldiers with a baton and using a stun gun on one of them. One of the beaten soldiers was seen using crutches.
The videos were claimed to have been filmed last week Thursday at a military site in Tuva, which is located near the Mongolian border and around 3,700 kilometers (2,300 miles) east of Moscow. The beaten soldiers were allegedly being sent to the front lines in Ukraine.
Russia’s Central Military District said the military police officer believed to have been the one filmed in the videos was arrested, according to a statement cited in Russian media reports. It was not immediately clear what charges the officer faces.
The Tuva regional government said it placed the investigation into the beating incident “under special control” after the videos circulated online. It said the suspected military police officer had been identified, adding that military investigators would press charges against him following a preliminary investigation.
Tuva’s former governor and current deputy speaker of Russia’s lower-house State Duma, Sholban Kara-Oil, said that “the violator will be punished to the fullest extent in accordance with military rules and requirements.”
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