Police: Russians likely shot two volunteers in Vovchansk

Two volunteers went missing and were likely shot, one potentially killed, by Russian forces while attempting an evacuation in Vovchansk, police said.

May 16, 2024 - 07:17

Vovchansk

Two volunteers went missing in Vovchansk, Kharkiv Oblast, on 10 May, and police say Russian forces likely shot them, with one potentially killed.

On 10 May, the Russian forces intensified shelling in Kharkiv Oblast and started an offensive there, capturing some villages on the border with Russia.

Tamaz Gambarashvili, head of the Vovchansk city administration, said to Suspilne, “On the first day of massive shelling and evacuation, the volunteers self-willingly, without coordinating with the police or us, reportedly went to the city, unaware that they should not go to the northern part of the city.”

Gambarashvili said that the information about those two volunteers is currently unknown. “Either they came under fire and were killed, or they were captured – we do not understand this,” he said.

Gambarashvili added that the NGO that sent the volunteers filed a missing persons report with the police. The volunteers were from Kyiv Oblast and wanted to help with evacuation efforts in Vovchansk but did not coordinate with local authorities.

Serhiy Bolvinov, head of investigative police in the Kharkiv Oblast, said: “While the fighting for the city was ongoing, two volunteers in their own car went to Vovchansk to evacuate a local family. But they never reached the address – they disappeared.”

Bolvinov said that the police are already investigating this case. “Unfortunately, according to preliminary information and witness accounts, the volunteers were shot by Russian troops. One of them is likely injured, the other one killed.”

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