Ukraine war: Russian military truck driver mows down conscripts

At least two Russian conscripts are dead and 11 have been injured after a truck ran over them at a top-secret training base. 

Israpil Abkherdilayev, 22, a contract soldier, rammed a KamAZ military transport into the conscripts at a training ground near the city of Mirny, northwest Russia, around 7pm on Thursday.

One soldier died at the scene while a second died later in hospital, where 11 others are now recovering with various degrees of injury.

Israpil Abkherdilayev, 22, a Russian contract soldier, ran over a column of conscripts in a Kamaz truck – leaving two dead and 11 hurt

The training ground is off-limits to anyone without a pass, and is located near the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, which houses Russian nukes and space rockets.

Just two days ago, a Yars intercontinental ballistic missile – which is capable of carrying a nuke – was launched from Plesetsk during training drills overseen by Putin.

It is also used to launch satellite-carrying space rockets and, in November last year, was used to test Russia’s satellite-killing Nudol missile.

An investigation has been launched, and the Russian military has not given any further information about what happened or why.

Abkherdilayev is reported to have ‘got behind the wheel of a KAMAZ truck and drove into a column of conscripts,’ according to media outlet ASTRA.

‘One conscript was killed instantly, the other died in hospital.

‘Eleven people were taken to a military hospital in the city of Mirny.’

The accident happened at a training ground in the town of Mirny, north-western Russia, which is closed off to those without a pass and located near the Plesetsk nuclear base

Sources of another news outlet 29.RU confirmed that two people had been killed, and that the rest were hospitalised with minor injuries.

The incident took place at a training ground belonging to Military Unit 13973, located in a closed area.

‘Military investigators are already working on the case,’ reported BAZA.

Plesetsk is regularly used for key launches.

Putin on Thursday oversaw a YARS launch in a nuclear exercise designed to respond to a Western attack on Russia.

Russian state TV said the Putin drills were aimed at targeting the UK and US.

On October 15, an Angara-1.2 carrier rocket with a spacecraft was launched from the cosmodrome.

Five days earlier a Soyuz-2.1b rocket was launched .

A news blackout was initially issued on the incident.

Military sources refused local journalists requests for comments on the incident.

Mirny is a closed town in the west of Arkhangelsk region, serving the Plesetsk Cosmodrome.