This Photo Does Not Show Tajik Gunmen Who Shot Russian Soldiers
The Claim
A photo shows four Tajik soldiers who killed 22 Russian soldiers at a Russian military base in Belgorod.
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Emerging story
Social media users and media outlets have shared a photo of four Tajik soldiers who allegedly killed 22 Russian soldiers at a Belgorod military base.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the viral photo and found the claim to be misleading.
Misbar discovered that the viral photo was outdated after a reverse image search.
Photo of Tajik Soldiers From 2005
Our research revealed that the image had been featured in a 2005 article.
According to the website, the photo was taken in 2005 and depicts young Tajik soldiers. It appears that the soldiers were captured after refusing to respond to a military call-up.
Two Tajik Gunmen Killed 11 Russian Soldiers
Contrary to claims purporting that three gunmen killed 22 Russian soldiers, reliable media outlets, such as Reuters and CNBS, reported different figures.
According to the defense ministry and the Russian news agency RIA, two gunmen opened fire on volunteers for the Ukrainian war on Saturday while engaging in a firearms training exercise. The shooters were killed, according to RIA.
Russia's Investigative Committee said, "As a result of the incident at a shooting range in the Belgorod region, 11 people died from gunshot wounds and another 15 were injured."
The Russian defense ministry stated, without providing any details, that the attackers were from a former Soviet republic. Oleksiy Arestovych, a senior Ukrainian official, said that the two men were from Tajikistan and that they had opened fire on the other soldiers following a dispute over religion.
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