A Russian defector opened fire on police in the southern Russian city of Novoshakhtinks, wounding an officer.
The man was reportedly fleeing Ukraine through a forest when he encountered Russian agents near a customs post on the outskirts of the city and fired a machine gun.
Officers were there searching for a missing woman, news channel 112 reported. At least one officer, Roman Biryukov, was hit in the pelvis and taken to hospital.
Schools and roads in and out of the city have been closed and residents have been told to stay indoors while police search for the suspect.
“The crime was committed in the suburbs of Novoshakhtinsk at 12 o’clock tonight. A man wearing a camouflage uniform opened fire on police officers and then fled the scene. One of the policemen went received a bullet wound,” the office of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the Rostov region. he told Tass News.
A law enforcement representative told Tass: “According to preliminary data, shots were fired with a machine gun. The shooter, provisionally, is a deserter. He is being sought,” the person said.
The incident follows a series of attacks by Russian army recruits against their superiors since the war with Ukraine broke out.
In September, the Kremlin admitted it had made “mistakes” in its mobilization campaign after a man shot a military recruiting officer at a recruitment center, citing unease that his best friend was being drafted.