Wagner mutiny reflects fault lines in Russia: Analysts

Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the private military group Wagner Group, records a video message from Rostov-on-Don, Russia, on June 24 [Prigozhin Press Office via AP]

There was a meme, “Bombing Voronezh”, poking fun at how Russia’s government responds to sanctions in ways that hurt itself. Today, the meme has become a reality as, after seizing the city of Rostov, mutinous Wagner mercenaries advance on the actual city of Voronezh, halfway to Moscow.

“I saw clouds of smoke from where the oil depot blew up, not far from my house,” 25-year-old Olesya from Voronezh told Al Jazeera.