A Russian soldier was seen firing a grenade launcher at a residential building in Sudzha, a border town in Russia's Kursk Oblast retaken from Ukrainian forces earlier this year, in a video published by independent Russian news outlet Astra on June 9.
In the footage, the soldier is seen loading a grenade launcher while repeatedly shouting "Akhmat! Chechnya!" — a reference to Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov's forces — before firing in the direction of a residential area.
The Orthodox Holy Trinity Church stands behind the impact site, Astra noted.
It is unclear when the video was filmed. Russian authorities later confirmed the man in the video was a junior sergeant from the 158th military commandant's office.
Kursk Oblast Governor Alexander Khinshtein wrote on Telegram on June 9 that the shot narrowly missed the church and struck a residential building. He added that the soldier died in a traffic accident while fleeing from law enforcement in early June.
"He will answer for his actions in another court: in early June, the junior sergeant died in a traffic accident," the governor wrote. "This is a lesson for everyone, regardless of religion."
Russian troops retook Sudzha in March, months after Ukrainian forces captured the town during the August 2024 cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast.
The incursion prompted a months-long Russian counteroffensive, backed by North Korean forces, which forced Ukrainian troops to withdraw from much of the previously seized territory.
Located just 10 kilometers (around 6 miles) from Ukraine's northeastern border, Sudzha had a pre-war population of around 6,000.
Kate Tsurkan
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