A Russian contract serviceman was stabbed to death in Armenia, the Russian Southern Military District’s press service said on Saturday, TASS reported.
"On April 22 at about 17.00 hours local time, a contract serviceman of the Russian military base in Armenia has been assaulted by a civilian not far from the base location. The soldier died at the scene from a stab wound. The attacker on the Russian serviceman has been detained by police of the city of Gyumri," the statement said.
The Southern Military District’s command are investigating the case alongside Armenian police, the press service said. "According to preliminary information, it was a voluntary manslaughter," it added.
Earlier, Armenia’s police said that a Russian soldier was killed in the city of Gyumri on Saturday.
Gyumri’s ambulance station said that at about 17.30 local time (13.30 GMT) a call came that a man in Russian military uniform was lying breathless near a shop in Kursk Square. Upon arriving at the scene, paramedics declared him dead. The investigation is underway, police said. A suspect has been detained.
Armenia hosts the 102nd Russian Military Base under the interstate treaty signed in 1995. The treaty was amended in 2010 to extend the base’s stay in Armenia from 25 years to 49, or to 2044. The base is headquartered in the country’s northwest city of Gyumri.