The leader of a local military draft committee has been shot in Russia as thousands protest the country’s military mobilisation
A 25-year-old man has shot the leader of a Siberian military draft committee in defiance of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilisation.
The man has not been named but is understood to have been detained and taken to hospital.
Local reports suggest three shots were fired at the site.
Authorities have vowed to punish the individual who refused to fight in the Russia’s war in Ukraine.
In another incident, six people are believed to be dead in a Russian school shooting.
State-media reports a man stormed the School Number 88 on Pushkinskaya Ulitsa in Izhevsk before opening fire on students and security staff.
It is unclear what the motivations for the attack are at this stage.
State-media reports “several ambulances and police vehicles outside the school”.
Why are people protesting?
Russian President Vladimir Putin called upon 300,000 armed reserves as part of a military mobilisation last week.
Some analysts believe the move comes amid Russian forces losing ground in Ukraine. But Mr Putin maintains it is to strengthen Russia’s hold on occupied regions.
Over 2,000 protesters are believed to have been arrested since Mr Putin’s nationwide address last week.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said the partial military mobilisation has been taking place behind closed doors for months.
“For several months, they’ve been secretly mobilising. But now, they admitted that their army is not able to fight with Ukraine anymore… they did not expect the resistance that they received from us.”
volodymyr Zelensky, president of ukraine
Videos surfacing on social media show women protesting in the Muslim area of Dagestan.
“Why are you taking our children? Who attacked who? It’s Russia that attacked Ukraine,” groups of women can be heard shouting.
Mr Putin maintains the war is a “special military operation”, which is designed to de-Nazify Ukraine.
However, many western allies and humanitarian groups have widely disputed these claims and have described the conflict as an “invasion”.
