Two Russian soldiers have been arrested on suspicion of going on a drunken killing spree in the Moscow-occupied part of southern Ukraine’s Kherson region this week, according to media reports.
Alexander Osipov, 34, and Alexander Kaigorodtsev, 36, were detained Wednesday after several people were found dead in the neighboring villages of Podo-Kalynivka and Abrykosivka, the independent Telegram news channel Astra reported Thursday, citing anonymous sources.
Osipov and Kaigorodtsev have confessed to the crimes and told investigators where they had hidden the bodies of additional victims, the Kommersant business daily reported.
“It is assumed they may have committed the crime in a state of alcoholic intoxication,” the publication wrote.
On Friday, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency cited anonymous law enforcement sources as saying there were seven victims in total.
In addition to the Moscow-installed head of Abrykosivka, who refused the soldiers’ demand to settle the village, the victims reportedly include a local homeowner, three residents and two security service officers who fell victim to indiscriminate gunfire.
Kommersant and Astra initially reported there were between three to five victims in the two Russian-occupied villages, including the head of Abrykosivka.
Kommersant reported that Osipov and Kaigorodtsev may have served in the 144th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the Russian Ground Forces.
Kaigorodtsev was previously convicted of murder, drug trafficking and public intoxication, according to Kommerant.
The Kremlin claims to have annexed Ukraine’s Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions, a move widely condemned by the international community.
Large swathes of these territories, including the regional capitals of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, are not currently under the control of the Russian military.