UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Oct. 14 — On Oct. 13, an unidentified person opened fire with an automatic weapon and killed five Ukrainian soldiers. The incident happened in the Kharkiv district, Liudmyla Prokopenko, a spokesperson of the Kharkiv regional police, told journalists.

Suspilne Kharkiv, a local media, citing their sources in the police, said that the soldiers killed were from the 72nd separate mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

According to Suspilne’s sources, a man in civilian clothing killed a soldier near a house in Kutuzivka village, 5 kilometers (~3 miles) northeast of Kharkiv. He continued shooting inside the house for two hours before fleeing, killing four more people.

The police also received information about an injured soldier in the nearest Momotove village.

According to one theory, a Russian soldier who escaped from captivity may have carried out the shooting.

OSINT channel AMK Mapping, citing their sources “on the ground,” also writes about the shooter being an escaped Russian prisoner of war (POW). They add, “one other soldier belonging to a marine battalion was also injured.”

Across the Kharkiv oblast, the police are searching for two Russian POWs who escaped from the place of detention, Glavkom, a Ukrainian media, said citing their sources in the police.

Valeriia Chyrina, spokesperson for the regional Prosecutor’s office, also confirmed to journalists the information about five killed Ukrainian soldiers.

She added that the Kharkiv regional Prosecutor’s Office initiated a pre-trial investigation into the murder. As part of the investigation, experts review various versions of the incident and determine the motives and other details of the crime, including whether the shooter might have been involved with a sabotage and reconnaissance unit of the Russian forces.

The police and prosecutors are not disclosing any further details about the case at this time.

Gwara Media couldn’t independently confirm the identity of the shooter. 

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