Russia opens investigation after video of military police beating soldiers released online By Reuters

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia has opened an investigation after video footage was published on social media showing what appears to be a military police officer brutally beating contract soldiers traveling to Ukraine with a baton and using firearms. that are strong against them.

In the videos, a man wearing a Russian military police uniform is shown walking up to one of the soldiers and beating him to the ground with a baton while shouting profanities and shocking him with a stun gun.

Then a soldier with a stick is shown being beaten and shocked with a gun when a man in a military uniform demands that they undress.

The time stamp of the video, which was distributed on Telegram by Russian war correspondents, is Jan 16 and local authorities say the events took place at the Kyzyl base, in the southern Siberian region of Tuva.

It is not clear what caused the soldiers to be beaten like that. Russian war correspondents say they were wounded soldiers who had been evacuated from the hospital to return to the front line in Ukraine.

The regional government of Tuva said in a statement on its website that an investigation had been opened after the videos surfaced.

“In one of them, on January 16, 2025, cases of ill-treatment of contract soldiers were reported in military unit No. 55115, including beatings and use of electric guns before deployment SVO,” Tuva government. said.

SVO is the acronym Russia uses to describe what it officially calls “Special Military Operations” in Ukraine.

“The perpetrators of the crime are identified, a preliminary investigation is conducted against them, and an analysis of the circumstances of the incident will be provided in accordance with the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, and the perpetrators will be punished ,” the regional government said.

The defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.