Voronezh (Russia) (AFP) – Around 500 kilometres south of Moscow, Voronezh — a city of one million people — is closer to the front line in eastern Ukraine than to the Russian capital. From frequent Ukrainian retaliatory drone attacks to army recruitment adverts around the city, the conflict has gradually seeped into daily life. “We all hope that everything will be over in 2026,” says the mother of a Russian soldier who has been missing in Ukraine for four months.
