Russian draft board officer shot at amid rage over mobilization
Moscow, Sep 26 (EFE).- The head of a Russian draft office in the far east region of Irkutsk suffered critical injuries after a man opened fire at him on Monday, said the regional governor, amid raging fury over President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization orders.
Governor Igor Kobzev wrote on the Telegram messaging app that the shooter fired multiple bullets at the draft office head, Alexandra Vladimirovich Eliseyev, wounding him critically.
The draft officer was in intensive care in an “extremely serious condition,” Kobzev said.
The shooting took place in the Ust-Ilimsk town, northwest of the Irkutsk region in Siberia.
The governor said the police detained the shooter but did not reveal his identity.
President Putin announced the partial mobilization of the Russian military last Wednesday, prompting many young Russians to flee the country out of fear of being called to war.
Dozens of draft offices established for military recruitment have been attacked in the past few months since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb.24.
But the attack on Monday was the first carried out with firearms.
The partial mobilization sparked protests across the world and in dozens of Russian cities.
The Russian police have detained over 2,000 people during the mass protests in various cities against Putin’s mobilization decree.
The Russian military aims to recruit 300,000 reservists for the Ukraine war.
Putin said the partial mobilization was needed “to ensure the security of our people and people of the liberated territories,” referring to the Russia-held region in the east and south of Ukraine.
Angry protests against the plan took place over the weekend in Dagestan.
On Sunday, the police fired warning shots to disperse demonstrators who had blocked the road between Jasasyurt and Makhachkalá cities to protest against the mobilization.
According to the Tut Dagestan Telegram channel, 110 reservists were summoned for military duty from Endiréi, which has a population of just over 7,000 inhabitants. Some of them had just returned from serving in the army. EFE
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