Having a brawl

Wagner mercenaries reportedly involved in massive street fight in Russia’s Chelyabinsk

A mass brawl allegedly involving former Wagner Group mercenaries broke out in Chelyabinsk, Russia, on May 25. While accounts of the incident vary, video footage taken by an eyewitness shows a group of men beating several individuals; another group of armed men then arrive at the scene and open fire as people flee. Local authorities later said that they had arrested the “participants” in the fight and that some “victims” required medical attention. Here’s what we know about the violent confrontation.

A mass brawl and shooting took place in Chelyabinsk, Russia on Saturday, according to the local news outlet 74.ru and the Telegram channel Baza. An eyewitness captured the incident on video. Based on the footage, at least 15 people, allegedly including former Wagner Group mercenaries, forced several young men to the ground and beat them. Then, the video shows a group of men dressed in black arriving at the scene and opening fire, while the purported Wagnerites attempt to flee.

One of the former Wagner Group members who was involved in the fight told 74.ru that the conflict started because two people fired at a Wagner mercenary and his girlfriend with a non-lethal firearm. Baza made no mention of the gun, but reported that an 18-year-old named Roman beat up a 21-year-old named Artyom when he saw him with his ex-girlfriend, 18-year-old Angelina.

However, 74.ru found a social media post by a local woman claiming that the fight broke out because the two young men made advances toward Angelina, who turned them down. Baza reported that Angelina called her father Alexander, another former Wagner Group mercenary, for help, and he brought his friends with him to the scene.

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“They weren’t going to kill anyone […] just punish them,” 74.ru’s source said. “But instead of calling the police, the vigilant relatives of these scoundrels called their friends. They arrived with weapons — combat ones,” he added, claiming that some of his fellow Wagnerites sustained gunshot wounds and other injuries as they fled the scene. (The reports about gunshot wounds have not been confirmed by other sources.)

Regional police reported that all the suspects involved in the brawl were identified and arrested. Local authorities have also tightened security measures, deploying armed patrols in the area.

Following the incident, the local branch of Russia’s Investigative Committee initiated a criminal case under the article on disorderly conduct. On May 26, the Investigative Committee’s press service issued a vague statement, which said that “the participants in the conflict, motivated by personal animosity, opened fire on their opponents with non-lethal weapons; the victims required medical attention.”