In Russian Ryazan, there are more and more graves of Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine in the cemeteries. Even under a considerable layer of snow, the cemetery of militants is replete with the colors of the flags of the occupying units.
The New York Times journalists published a report from the Russian city, where the bodies of dead militants are constantly brought. They talked to the locals and asked what they think about the war in Ukraine.
What Russians say about the war in Ukraine
Natalya is the mother of the deceased invader, the woman refused to give her last name. Once a week she goes to the grave of her dead son. He died in the first days of the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war in Gostomel. The deceased invader was 26 years old.
“Natalya comes at least once a week to look after the grave of her only son, who died in the first days of the war. What was left of his body arrived in Ryazan a few weeks,” the report says.
Journalists note that most Western opponents of Russian aggression believed that it was mothers like Natalya who would become the backbone of a wave of indignation against Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and turn into a political force opposing him.
The Russians keep silent about the war
However, after 10 months of the war, this did not happen on a large scale. The Russians continue to remain silent about the war in Ukraine.
The woman said the invasion “should have been better planned” to minimize casualties. She did not say a word to the top leadership of Russia. “We had to do something,” she said, referring to Ukraine.
Journalists note that the local cemetery had at least 20 rows with three fresh graves in each.
< p> However, it seems that even insane losses will not make the Russians start talking about the war. The NYT notes that Ryazan, where two military bases are located, proudly sends its people to war, even if some return in body bags.
Local resident Marina Doronina also expressed support for the war. Her 27-year-old son, Vadim, was only called up a few days after Putin announced in late September that Russia was mobilizing several hundred thousand men.
Single mother of two other children, including one of severe vices , Doronina, depends on her eldest son for financial assistance and physical labor. She noted that her roof was “leaking like a sieve” and she planned to fix it before winter. h2>
“Who's going to fix my roof now?” she asked. Dona added that her son was also going to fix the fence in the fall.
But she said that she was not angry that he was sent to war. She also did not oppose mobilization at all. Instead, she said, she was furious at the system, which could not provide a reprieve for her son.
She communicates with Vadim, who is now in Ukraine. He sends videos of himself in the trenches spending time with co-workers. According to her, she feels proud when she sees photos of him in camouflage.
“Our president is wise enough and he still does his job well,” the woman said. Echoing a common theme promoted by propaganda programs on state television and among many ordinary people, she said that she believes that the “West” is not only fighting in Ukraine, but also suffering the consequences of the war worse than Russia.
“People they have nothing there,” she said of the West. “Come into our stores, we have everything. It does not affect us in any way,” she said, although she admitted that prices have increased slightly.
Ryazan still frightened the Russians
On December 5, explosions were heard at the Russian airfields “Dyagilevo” and “Engels”. In Russia, they said that this happened due to the fall of unknown drones.
Some Ryazan residents believe that there is nothing wrong with this. They believe in “the strength of Russian air defense” and their leadership. However, not everyone is of this opinion. A 19-year-old student said that she was scared when she heard the sounds of explosions.
