Russian militaries apologize for shooting in Armenian village

The exercises that Russian servicemen conducted in the Armenian village of Panik scared the locals. The deputy commander of the Russian military base in Gyumri confessed to the mistake made and promised to punish the perpetrators.

On July 17, Russian militaries conducted the exercises with shooting right in Panik, located in the Shirak Region of Armenia near the "Alagyaz" training ground, Vardan Makeyan, the head of the local community, said. "Up to three dozen soldiers blocked the village's road, stopped their column; and we heard such sounds – shots! It's good that the cartridges were blank. All the villagers immediately rushed out of their houses; there were even children, who lost consciousness," said Makeyan.

Karen Sarukhanyan, the Governor of the Shirak Region, said that Alexei Polyukhovich, the commander for work with the personnel of the 102nd Russian Military Base in Gyumri, had apologized for the incident. The Governor has noted that such incidents are unacceptable in the future, the "News.am" reports.

"We understand that villagers were worried and frightened; we admit that we made a mistake by failing to properly notify people. We'll hold an official investigation and make perpetrators accountable," the "News.am" quotes Commander Polyukhovich as saying.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 18, 2018 at 05:09 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.