Mikhail Taskin, a member of the Wagner Group, before being assaulted in Transbaikalia, was provoking the assailants with threats to “bend them over.” In 2019, Taskin attempted to shoot one of the attackers. The authorities claim that Taskin was assaulted for his participation in the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the "Sibir. Realities" publication on August 9.
According to journalists, the incident took place in the town of Nerchinsky Zavod on August 6. Mikhail Taskin, formerly convicted and currently a Wagner mercenary, approached a group of local men. Claiming that he had been pardoned, he threatened to “bend everyone over.”
Among those he challenged, was a man named Alexandrov, whom Taskin attempted to shoot four years earlier. in an altercation on August 19, 2019, Taskin reportedly fired multiple shots at Alexandrov, who fell down and feigned being incapacitated. Taskin turned away from him and made three shots at the crowd. No one was injured as Taskin was heavily inebriated. He was subsequently sentenced to nine years in a high-security correctional facility for an attempt at premeditated murder of multiple individuals.
In prison, Taskin was recruited by the Wagner PMC. In August 2023, he returned to Nerchinsky Zavod from the war in Ukraine, where he lost a leg.
Legal counsel Alexander Zhdanov and a source within the Interior Ministry informed "Sibir. Realities" that Taskin suffered minor injuries during the altercation. A mobilized man, who also fought in Ukraine, Sergei Yelgin, was present at the incident but the assailants did not target him physically. According to the publication, Yelgin purchased 20 boxes of ammunition on August 9; law enforcement agencies have initiated a search for him.
The official explanation says that Taskin was assaulted because of his involvement in the war in Ukraine, with the attackers calling the military men "killers." The assailants verbally abused them, threw away their military medals, and vandalized a personal vehicle.
Initially, the incident was categorized by the police as a property damage case, which outraged Duma member Alexander Khinshtein who demanded to charge everyone involved with discrediting the military. The head of Transbaikalia, Alexander Osipov, has stated that the prosecutor’s office will punish the policemen. As a result, the charges of discrediting the army have been added to the criminal case of property damage. Two of the attackers have been detained while the third placed on the wanted list.
Osipov also released a video featuring servicemen urging for the mobilization of Taskin's attackers, calling them "bastards" and "fascists."
