Two men who identified themselves as former fighters of the Wagner private military company attacked a freelance correspondent for the outlet It's My City at a Gazpromneft gas station on Kosmonavtov Avenue in Yekaterinburg on the evening of July 7, where a large queue of cars had formed.
The journalist, whose name the outlet did not disclose, attempted to take several photographs for a photo archive. Two men from the queue then ran up to him, grabbed him by his clothing and bag, punched him in the chest, and took his mobile phone.
The attackers said they had come from the Belgorod region. They repeatedly asked the journalist: “Do you want to go to the SMO?” — using the Russian acronym for the war in Ukraine — and claimed that “because of people like you, guys keep dying at the front.”
The men themselves called the police, telling the dispatcher they had caught a person who “films gas stations for Ukrainians.” Police did not arrive at the gas station. The journalist was forced to delete the photographs and show the attackers an empty gallery.
After the men filled their cars, they photographed the journalist’s passport, copied down his details, returned his belongings, and let him go.
Russia is experiencing a fuel crisis caused by Ukrainian drone strikes on Russian oil refineries. Many regions have imposed restrictions on gasoline sales, leading to long queues at gas stations and an increase in conflicts at filling stations.