Russian soldier sentenced to life for killing four comrades in a drunken dugout attack

The court did not release specific details of the Posmetukhov case to Mediazona, stating that the hearings had been held in private.

However, a year earlier, Mediazona received an order from Mikhail Teplinsky, commander of the “Dnieper” group of troops, dated November 30, 2023. This order described an alleged incident within the 17th Tank Regiment, part of the 70th Motorised Rifle Division, on the night of November 28.

The order detailed that Yefreitor Posmetukhov, having drunk alcohol with fellow soldiers, had taken an assault rifle to the command dugout. When he knocked on the door, a patrol challenged him, and Posmetukhov responded by opening fire, killing Junior Sergeant Vladimir Glazyev.

Posmetukhov then went inside the dugout and shot dead Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Klyukin, Captain Mikhail Trubin, and Private Vladimir Petrichenko as they slept. He was then apprehended by two privates.

According to the order, Posmetukhov’s actions stemmed from anger towards Captain Komarovsky, who had disciplined him and threatened him with deployment to a stormtrooper unit. Captain Komarovsky was, however, not among those killed.

“Previous to this, no investigations had been conducted into Posmetukhov’s drinking, nor had any official records been made of serious breaches of discipline,” the order noted.

The order further outlined multiple instances of misconduct within the regiment and stressed the need for preventative measures and strong disciplinary action. It suggested that the incident occurred, in part, because Posmetukhov had not previously been assigned to a storm company or disciplinary battalion for earlier violations.

It was also mentioned that Lieutenant Colonel Klyukin was officially listed with another unit, but was actually suspended from duty, while Captain Trubin had been assigned to the regiment for a position that was already filled.

While Mediazona has been unable to independently verify the order’s authenticity, it has been possible to confirm the deaths of the four servicemen mentioned in it, all on November 28, 2023.