Russian Defense Ministry denies that soldiers have been hospitalized for psychological breakdowns following shooting at military base

At least seven soldiers completing their mandatory term of service in Russia have reportedly been hospitalized after they witnessed a mass shooting at their base. Irina Braun, the head of the Soldiers’ Mothers Organization of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District, told the outlet Ura.ru about the hospitalizations.

“There’s a total of 26 people from [the Khanty-Mansi District] serving in that unit. Seven of them are in the hospital with nervous breakdowns. One of them can’t talk, and another has developed psoriasis,” Braun said, noting that she did not know about the conditions of the other five soldiers.

Braun also told Kommersant that she believed the soldiers’ conditions stemmed from the stress they had experienced when eight of their comrades were killed by another soldier. She mentioned that her organization plans to visit the injured. In an interview with TASS, the organizer also said her group would attempt to move the 26 soldiers from her region closer to home because their unit is being disbanded following the shooting.

Defense Ministry officials told Interfax that the news of seven or more soldiers being hospitalized for psychological crises was false.