The mayor of Vorkuta announced that he would be sent to war against Ukraine

The mayor of Vorkuta, Yaroslav Shaposhnikov, announced that he had signed a contract with the Ministry of Defense of Russia and would go to participate in the war against Ukraine. He stated this during the rally, reports Sever.Realii. This information was also confirmed to journalists in the city administration.

Shaposhnikov made his statement at a rally-concert in support of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. “Five of my colleagues will go with me from Vorkuta. The decision was made consciously,” the mayor said, clarifying that he was supported by the head of Koma, Vladimir Uyba.

The publication “7×7” reported that about 200 people came to the rally, and state employees were driven to it. The mayor’s office said that this action was supposed to take place on February 23, but was postponed due to weather conditions.

The press service of the Vorkuta administration told Sever.Realii journalists that Shaposhnikov’s decision is related to the fact that “he is a former soldier” and “this is his personal initiative.” The mayor’s office could not name five more employees who, as the mayor said, would go to war with him, but specified that they “may change their minds.”

According to the press secretary, the contract with the Ministry of Defense is for an hour, Shaposhnikov will leave the mayor’s chair “somewhere in May”. His post will be temporarily occupied by one of the deputies, then the election of a new mayor will be held.

Yaroslav Shaposhnikov is 44 years old, he was born in Astrakhan. He studied at the police school, and then began to work as an investigator, several times he was on business trips to Chechnya. Then he moved to Kostroma and became an official, and later a deputy of one of the districts of the region. In 2020, Shaposhnikov moved to Vorkuta, at first he was the deputy mayor, and then he headed the city administration.

• An earlier edition of “Verstka” reported that the Kremlin recommended that the heads of Russian regions “as publicly as possible” go to the war zone with Ukraine before the elections in September. The recommendation concerns the heads of regions, which are facing an election campaign. “Vyorstka” refers to anonymous sources close to the authorities of Moscow and another, unnamed region.
• In December last year, the newspaper “Vedomosti” reported that “Edynaya Russia” plans to nominate participants in the Ukrainian war and volunteers who worked in the Donbass in the elections at all levels. The publication writes that the CPRF, “Just Russia” and LDPR are also planning to send veterans of the Ukrainian war to the elections.