A Russian soldier was sentenced to life in prison for fatally shooting four of his fellow soldiers, the independent news website Mediazona reported Monday, citing the press service of the military court that handed down the sentence.
A court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don found Corporal Nikita Posmetukhov guilty of murder and violence against military authorities during an armed conflict.
The trial was held behind closed doors, and the court did not disclose case materials, according to Mediazona. However, journalists said they believe Posmetukhov was convicted over a previously unreported deadly incident on Nov. 28, 2023.
Posmetukhov allegedly went on a drunken rampage after his captain filed a disciplinary action against him and threatened to send him to an assault unit.
Two privates detained Posmetukhov, according to a report by Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, who had been appointed commander of Russia’s Dnipro grouping of forces a month earlier. The motive for the killings was not disclosed.
Mediazona said it independently confirmed the identities of the four soldiers killed as Junior Sergeant Vladimir Glazyev, Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Klyukin, Captain Mikhail Trubin and Private Vladimir Petrichenko
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