Life in Yelets: Russia’s War on Ukraine Hits Home
In Yelets, a town 350km south of Moscow, winter can feel like a scene from a Russian fairy tale, with golden-domed Orthodox churches and ice fishermen on the frozen river. But the fairy-tale atmosphere is fleeting. On the riverbank, billboards recruit soldiers with promises of £15,000 for signing up to fight in Ukraine. Posters depict Russian soldiers with Kalashnikovs, accompanied by slogans like “We’re there where we need to be.” Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the conflict has dragged on far longer than expected, surpassing even the duration of Nazi Germany’s war against the Soviet Union. In Yelets, the human cost is visible: a mural on a nine-storey apartment block shows the faces of five local men killed in Ukraine, under the words “Glory to the heroes of Russia!” Locals like Irina, a […]