Chernihiv region firing range shooting on 16 July 2025
A look back at a shooting at a Ukrainian Ground Forces training ground, set against the week's other security incidents.
What happened at a Ground Forces training ground in Chernihiv region on 16 July 2025? As reported at the time, a cadet opened fire on fellow servicemen there, killing two instructors. He was then arrested.
The incident came in a week of violence elsewhere in the country. On 12 July 2025, Russia launched 597 drones and 26 cruise missiles across Ukraine. Two civilians were killed in Chernivtsi and 20 others were injured, while infrastructure was damaged in several cities.
Security services were also dealing with a killing in the capital. On 10 July 2025, an unknown armed man shot dead a Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) colonel in Kyiv's Holosiivskyi district. Two suspected Russian FSB agents accused of the murder were themselves killed on 13 July 2025, during an SBU raid on a safe house in Kyiv region.
The training-ground shooting was of a different kind from these events, which were tied to Russia's attacks and alleged intelligence operations. The reports from 16 July 2025 gave the location, the number of instructors killed and the cadet's arrest.
