A Russian soldier was seen firing a grenade launcher at a residential constructing in Sudzha, a border city in Russia's Kursk Oblast retaken from Ukrainian forces earlier this yr, in a video revealed by unbiased Russian information outlet Astra on June 9.

Within the footage, the soldier is seen loading a grenade launcher whereas repeatedly shouting "Akhmat! Chechnya!" — a reference to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov's forces — earlier than firing within the course of a residential space.

The Orthodox Holy Trinity Church stands behind the influence web site, Astra famous.

It’s unclear when the video was filmed. Russian authorities later confirmed the person within the video was a junior sergeant from the 158th navy commandant's workplace.

Kursk Oblast Governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram on June 9 that the shot narrowly missed the church and struck a residential constructing. He added that the soldier died in a site visitors accident whereas fleeing from legislation enforcement in early June.

"He’ll reply for his actions in one other court docket: in early June, the junior sergeant died in a site visitors accident," the governor wrote. "This can be a lesson for everybody, no matter faith."

Russian troops retook Sudzha in March, months after Ukrainian forces captured the city throughout the August 2024 cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast.

The incursion prompted a months-long Russian counteroffensive, backed by North Korean forces, which pressured Ukrainian troops to withdraw from a lot of the beforehand seized territory.

Positioned simply 10 kilometers (round 6 miles) from Ukraine's northeastern border, Sudzha had a pre-war inhabitants of round 6,000.

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