According to Phuket City Police, Pol Lt Sumet Petchruangthong, Deputy Investigator at Phuket City Police Station, received a report from the police radio centre at about 12:50am of foreign tourists fighting in front of the Krungsri Ayutthaya Bank branch on Ratsada Rd.
Patrol officers were dispatched to the scene and intervened to stop the brawl before taking five Russian nationals into custody.
Police identified the men as Iurii Bilekko, Anton Sabitov, Ivan Asanov, Evgenii Iakushev and Vitaly Maslovskiy.
Videos shared online showed groups of men punching each other in the busy entertainment area, prompting speculation on social media that both Thai and foreign nationals had been assaulted.
However, Phuket City Police Chief Pol Col Chatree Chukaew yesterday clarified that the altercation was solely between Russian nationals.
“It was a fight between Russians and did not involve any Thais. No one else in the area was harmed,” Pol Col Chatree said.
He explained that the incident began when a drunken Russian man wearing a baseball cap got into a verbal argument near a table where another group of Russians were sitting at a restaurant.
“The man then began bothering the other group, which led to a physical fight,” he said.
The Russian man’s girlfriend, who was seen at the scene, was not involved in the fight and was only accompanying him, Pol Col Chatree added.
Police said they were unable to clearly determine what initially sparked the argument, though Pol Col Chatree noted that the man wearing the hat appeared to have instigated the confrontation.
When asked to identify which individual started the fight, Pol Col Chatree said he could not recall the man’s name, joking that the Russian names were too difficult to pronounce.
All five men were taken to Phuket City Police Station, where police fined them for causing a public nuisance before releasing them.
Both sides agreed not to pursue legal action or file assault complaints against each other, and the matter was settled amicably, police said.
Police also confirmed that no serious injuries were sustained in the brawl.