At Least Five Killed, Several Injured in Shooting by National Guard Trooper in Ukraine

"At 03:40 [01:40 GMT] a tragedy occurred on the territory of the Yuzhmash Southern Machine-Building Plant. A serviceman of the National Guard of Ukraine, Conscript Ryabchuk Artemy Yuryevich, born in 2001, upon being given a weapon, shot at National Guard watch on duty from a Kalashnikov rifle for unknown reasons, after which he fled with the weapon. As a result, five people were killed and five more were injured," the ministry said.

The territory of the plant where the incident occurred has been cordoned off and is heavily patrolled, with an internal investigation launched in the military unit, the press service of the National Guard reported on Thursday.

The suspect in the shooting – part of the guard unit at the plant – had been serving in the National Guard since the autumn of last year and had been generally characterized positively, press officer of the National Guard, Ruslan Muzychuk, said on Thursday. Appointment of servicemen to the military guard is a procedure that constantly entails conversations with a psychologist, Muzychuk was quoted as saying.

He added that those wounded in the incident had sustained limb injuries. The motives for the crime are still unknown.

A police operation has been launched in the city, with personnel of the national police and National Guard units put on high alert. A criminal case has been opened into the deadly shooting incident.