This Photo Does Not Show a Civilian Car Targeted by the Russian National Guard
The Claim
A photo shows a civilian car that was mistakenly fired upon by the Russian National Guard, believing it was carrying members of the Wagner group in Boguchar, Voronezh Oblast, Russia.
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Emerging story
After the Wagner group rebelled against the Russian government, social media users circulated a photo purporting to show a civilian car that was mistakenly fired upon by the Russian National Guard.
According to the claim, the guards believed the car was carrying members of the Wagner Group in Boguchar, Voronezh Oblast. Subsequently, it was revealed that the car belonged to a family from Rostov.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the photo and found the claim to be misleading.
After conducting a thorough reverse image search, Misbar’s team found the circulating photo to be outdated.
The Photo of the Car With Bullet Marks Dates Back to 2014
The photo was first circulated in October 2014. It features a shooting incident where a car was targeted in front of the entrance to the local election committee in the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, on the day of the Ukrainian parliamentary elections.
Media outlets reported the incident on October 26, 2014.
Shooting Attack Near the Ukrainian Election Commission
Two cars were shot in front of the entrance of the 33rd district's election commission on Lenin Avenue in Krivoy Rog, Ukraine. The incident occurred at around 1 P.M. and involved the use of automatic weapons.
Two individuals who happened to be passing by on the street at the time were killed in the incident. They were promptly taken to the hospital by an ambulance.
The police stated that the shooting of a car in District No. 33 in Kryvyi Rih was unrelated to the election process.
Wagner Leader Halts Moscow Advance
After Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian army of attacking Wagner group camps in Ukrainian territory, allegedly under the Defense Minister's orders, the Wagner group rebelled against the Russian government on June 24. Prigozhin claimed that these attacks resulted in the deaths of numerous fighters.
In a significant development, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, made the decision to halt the advance on Moscow, potentially preventing Russia from plunging into an immediate civil war. Prigozhin announced that he would order his Wagner fighters to cease their march and return to their bases in southern Russia.
The Wagner Group
The Wagner Group, also known as PMC Wagner, emerged in 2014 when it provided support to pro-Russian separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. Initially, it operated discreetly and primarily in Africa and the Middle East, with an estimated strength of around 5,000 fighters, largely composed of veterans from Russia's elite regiments and special forces.
However, since then, the group has undergone significant expansion. It reportedly began recruiting on a larger scale in 2022 due to difficulties faced by Russia in recruiting for its regular army. The U.S. National Security Council revealed earlier this year that approximately 80% of Wagner's troops in Ukraine were sourced from prisons.
Despite the illegality of mercenary forces in Russia, the Wagner Group officially registered as a company in 2022 and established new headquarters in St. Petersburg.
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