A landmine exploded when an elderly couple were mushroom picking in a forest near the Ukrainian border. Nikolai Yaskov died at the scene, while his wife Valentina was taken to the hospital with shrapnel wounds. Governor Alexander Bogomaz’s office has chosen to ignore this incident in their reports. A 7x7 journalist has found out about the tragedy from a local resident.
On October 18, a married couple from the village of Novy Ropsk went mushroom picking in a forest about one kilometer away from the Ukrainian border. 68-year-old Nikolai Yaskov stepped on a landmine and was killed instantly. His 62-year-old wife Valentina Yaskova was transported to the district hospital with shrapnel wounds and injuries.
"Nikolai stepped on a landmine, and it tore him apart, including his legs and everything. Valentina had a cell phone, and she called for an ambulance, and the ambulance contacted the police. She crawled. She lost consciousness out of fear. Another incident happened before: they went into the forest, picked mushrooms, and shooting began," a resident of Novy Ropsk posted on social media.
Nikolai had worked as a mechanic at the Lenin Collective Farm before retiring. The couple has two adult sons.
The village administration posted a message a day after the tragedy with a warning against visiting forests near the border. The administration has declined to provide a comment to a 7x7 journalist. Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz has not yet commented on the tragedy.
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, landmines have claimed the lives of several people in Russia's border areas. In the Bryansk region, a lumber truck driver was injured by a landmine. In the Belgorod region, among landmine explosion victims were construction workers, servicemen, fishermen, and a teenager.
