Kids Scream as Putin's Guard Fire at Crowd in 'Mock Execution' Gone Wrong

Videos circulating on social media appear to show members of Vladimir Putin's internal security forces opening fire at a crowd in the Moscow region as part of "demonstration performances," reportedly injuring a child.

The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, which has close ties to Russian security forces, published a video on Sunday of the incident in the city of Elektrostal. It apparently shows members of the Rosgvardia, the National Guard, which is separate from Russia's armed forces and reports directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"During demonstration performances, the fighters of the Russian Guard decided...to shoot spectators with children (fortunately, with blank cartridges). Small children screamed clutching their heads and fell to the ground. There were injuries. Serious damage from a bounced cartridge case," the channel said.

Ukraine's 24 Kanal TV channel said a number of Telegram channels posted footage from the scene. It said the National Guard "for some reason" decided to point their weapons at spectators, which included many children.

A 34-year-old woman was reportedly wounded on her cheek and jaw, while a child was hospitalized with a head injury. An investigation has been launched into the incident by Russia's Investigative Committee.

Newsweek reached out to Russia's Foreign Ministry via email for comment.

The British Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update earlier this month that Putin is arming the National Guard with "heavy weaponry" following the aborted mutiny led by Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 24, in which he marched towards Moscow.

As part of a declaration signed by Putin on August 4, Rosgvardia will be receiving weaponry which could include artillery supplies and attack helicopters, the MOD said, describing the National Guard as a "sprawling organisation of up to 200,000 front line personnel."

By equipping it with heavy weaponry, the Kremlin could be "doubling down on resourcing Rosgvardia as one of the key organisations to ensure regime security," the intelligence update said.

Russia created its National Guard, or Rosgvardia, in 2016. National Guard soldiers have been heavily used in Ukraine throughout the full-scale invasion launched last February, and many have been sacked for refusing to fight in the war-torn country.

In a speech on Russia's National Guard Day on March 27, Putin described its key tasks as "countering terrorism, extremism and organized crime, guarding significant strategic facilities, maintaining law and order during mass events, and monitoring the arms trade."

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