Shooting incident in school in Russia kills at least 17, injures another 24 - gunman takes his own life

A gunman opens fire in a school in central Russia, kills at least 17 people and injures another 24 before committing suicide. The tragic incident happened in the city of Izhevsk, a city located some 600 miles east of Moscow. Russian authorities have identified the gunman. He was in his early 30s and a graduate of the same school. It seems he wore a black T-shirt bearing “Nazi symbols.” His motives are still shrouded in mystery. The dead included 11 children. Another 22 children suffered injuries in the attack. According to the governor of Udmurtia, Alexander Brechalov, the gunman was registered as a patient at a psychiatric facility. He committed suicide after the attack. Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the attack as “inhuman.” Russia: At least 17 dead, 24 wounded in Izhevsk school shooting. A spokesman of the Kremlin said - “President Putin deeply mourns the deaths of people, children, at a school where there was a terrorist attack by a person, who apparently belongs to a neo-fascist group.” He added - the president wishes for the recovery of those injured as a result of this inhuman terrorist attack.

Authorities of Russia reveals that the gunman used two non-lethal handguns adapted to fire real bullets. The guns were not registered. The authorities have launched criminal investigation into the incident on charges of multiple murders and illegal possession of firearms. After the incident, students were made to evacuate the premises and it was cordoned off. The school caters to children aged six to 17. The population of the city of Izhevsk is about 640,000 people and it is located west of the Ural Mountains in central Russia. While shooting in schools is more frequent in the United States and many other countries, it is not so in Russia. In April 2022, a man killed two children and a teacher at a kindergarten in the central Ulyanovsk region before killing himself. Before that, in May 2021, a lone teenage gunman opened fire in the city of Kazan and killed nine people. Seven of them were children. In another incident of 2018, a student at a college in Russian-annexed Crimea killed 20 people. Then he committed suicide. Incidentally, in Russia, military service is compulsory for men aged between 18 and 27. There have been a few incidents in the past of death from gun violence in the military.

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Ukraine plans missile tests, Russia responds by sending warships to the Black Sea

Ukraine has begun two days of missile tests near Crimea and it has angered Russia in a fresh escalation of tensions between the two countries. Russia has retaliated by putting its air defence forces on high alert and deploying warships in the Black Sea.
This has been reported in dailymail.co.uk dated 1 Dcember 2016.

It may be recalled that relations between the one-time allies had collapsed in 2014 when Russia seized Crimea and backed pro-Russian separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Regarding the present escalation of tension is attributed to Ukraine trying to bolster its defence capabilities and testing S-300 medium-range surface-to-air missiles. As the head of the Ukrainian military's southern branch press-service has explained - the exercise is to gain experience in using these anti-aircraft missile systems and to check the quality of the rockets. These rockets had been repaired. Another reason is to improve the skills of the anti-aircraft missile troop units. He has added that the tests are being carried out in accordance with international law.
It seems Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed 55,000 troops on the Ukrainian border in Russia's latest muscle-flexing exercise. This sudden influx of feet on the ground adds to up to 7,500 Russian soldiers already stationed in Ukraine. This has prompted fears of an invasion.


Image courtesy wikimediacommons.org


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Russia to train five dolphins for its underwater combat fleet

Russia is on the lookout for five combat dolphins and use them to perform military duties underwater in an echo of its Soviet-era use of the animals for military tasks. It seems the search is on for two female and three male dolphins between the ages of three and five - they should have perfect teeth and no physical problems.
The animals are to be delivered before August to the military in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. This location has been a training center for the animals since 1965. The center was badly dilapidated following the collapse of the Soviet Union and the dolphins were reportedly sold to Iran.
This has been reported in news.sky.com dated 9 March 2016.

Ukraine's navy had revived the center in 2012 but, once the Russians annexed Ukraine two years later, the center has gone back under Russia's control. Therefore, Russia is working out new programs to train the dolphins to serve the Russian military.
During the Cold War, dolphins were used to locate submarines, underwater mines and suspicious objects near harbors and ships. The dolphins were an integral part of the arms race between the USSR and the US. The dolphins were trained to not only plant explosives on enemy ships but could also locate abandoned torpedoes in the Black Sea.
Incidentally, the US even now uses sea mammals for military purposes - sea lions have been deployed to Bahrain in 2003.


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