Bomb craters, damaged houses, residents in shock: the armed rebellion of Wagner’s mercenaries left its mark in the Russian countryside, hundreds of kilometers from the Ukrainian front.
Last Saturday, on the orders of their leader Yevgeny Prigojine, columns of Wagner group vehicles rushed from the south-west of Russia towards Moscow. Objective: to overthrow the military command accused of lies and incompetence in Ukraine.
The mutiny is one of the worst threats faced by Vladimir Putin in more than two decades in power. But, after 24 hours of negotiations, Yevgeny Prigojine ordered his men to turn around and went into exile in Belarus.
During this lightning action, clashes in still unclear circumstances broke out between Wagner and the regular army in the Voronezh region, 450 kilometers south of the Russian capital, an agricultural area known for its fertile “black earth”.
“There was the sound of a plane passing by, but we didn’t see it. It circled around, then there was a whistle and a big crash, then a second,” says Lyubov, 65. years, a nurse at the hospital in the town of Anna, an hour and a half drive from Voronezh.
“People say their windows were blown out. We have a house away (from the city), plaster fell from the ceiling,” the lady told AFP, while waiting at the bus stop.
“We don’t need war here, we don’t need anything,” she adds. “But I think everything will be fine, because we have Putin in this country, I respect him, I adore him, he is an intelligent man”, she concludes, laughing, her umbrella in her hand.
At the exit of the city, several large bomb craters are visible below a road whose guardrail has been torn off. Trees and a utility pole were blown down by the blast.
Yevgeny Prigojine claims that the very seasoned Wagner group shot down several Russian army aircraft and that two of its men were killed and several wounded. Mr Putin admitted the death of several pilots, without giving figures.
In the village of Elizavetovka, in another part of the Voronezh region, 19 houses were damaged by gunfire.
“There were gunshots and shelling. Thank God it was very early (Saturday) and people were sleeping,” said a resident, on condition of anonymity.
A local government official then demanded that AFP leave the village, saying she did not want to show a “negative” image of the area to foreign media.
In the regional capital, Voronezh, a fuel depot caught fire near a major thoroughfare in the city of one million during the rebellion, sparking a huge blaze. Charred tanks were still visible there on Tuesday.
Residents interviewed by AFP are divided. Some praise the action of the Kremlin and believe that the crisis is resolved. But others still do not feel safe and some even support Yevgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny.
“He’s right. Everyone supports him, but they’re too afraid to say so,” says a Voronezh resident, also on condition of anonymity for fear of the repression that is massively hitting critics of power.
“We talk about it in the car, in the kitchens, but nobody says anything (in public), even on the Internet, because they are too scared. You can go to prison for that”, she underlines.
Inna, a 60-year-old retired psychologist, says she had only one instinct when she learned of Wagner’s rebellion: rush to the store to buy groceries and have supplies in case of unrest.
For her, there is “nothing reassuring” despite the official end of the crisis. “Uncertainty remains, distrust remains in relation to what is happening,” breathes this worried-looking woman, sitting on a bench in the center of Voronezh.
A resident told AFP that she was totally against military intervention in Ukraine. “I just want peace. I think it’s Putin’s fault. He brought out all the darkness in life.”
30/06/2023 16:44:23 – Voronej (Russia) (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
