More than 100 wooden coffins were brought to the Tolmachevo airport in Novosibirsk on February 21. A video appeared on social networks with boxes and sheets attached to them, on which there was information about the dead. As found out "Siberia. Realii", in the coffins – the bodies of the soldiers and mercenaries of Wagner PMC who died in Ukraine.
The administration of Tolmachevo denies that one of their premises is on the video, the representative of the airport told the edition "Rise" that this is unreliable information. However, journalists drew attention to the fact that on the car that got into the frame, Novosibirsk numbers with numbers of the region – 154.
Also journalists of Siberia. Realii contacted the relatives of one of the victims, 39-year-old Gennady Gerbold from Buryatia, whose name was written on a sheet attached to one of the coffins. They confirmed to the publication that representatives of the Wagner PMC reported the death of Herbold two weeks ago, after which the body was brought to Novosibirsk.
His sister Olesya Gerbold stated that his brother disappeared from colony No. 8 (Omsk region) in November, and the family found out about his recruitment into PMCs and sending him to the war in Ukraine only in December. According to her, when talking on the phone, he swore that he would never go to Ukraine. Herbold was convicted under Art. 111 part 4 (intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm resulting in death). When Gerbold's sister was called and told that they would bring the body to Novosibirsk, they specified: "Open it and check whether it is yours or not." She was advised to conduct a DNA test to accurately confirm the death, noting that there are many Gerbolds, there are those who died with the same surnames from Pskov and Orenburg.
Each box in the video has a six-digit number and the letter "K". Presumably, these are the numbers of Wagner tokens, and the letter “K” indicates that these are prisoners.
The video also showed a copy of the death certificate in the name of Sergei Yumashev. The government of the republic confirmed his death, specifying that the 39-year-old native of the village of Arshanovo served in the Wagner PMC. He died on January 27 near Bakhmut, the death certificate was issued on February 8. In May 2019, the court sentenced Yumashev and several other residents of the republic to terms of 8.5 to 10.5 years for selling drugs on a large scale and participating in a criminal community.
On February 23, a mobile selection point for military service under a contract was set up near the Novosibirsk-Glavny railway station, residents told Taiga.info. According to the townspeople, the mobile station stands right on the sidewalk, which has not been cleared of snow.
In the summer, social networks published a video with a plane full of zinc coffins with servicemen who died in the war in Ukraine. The Novaya Tuva publication reported that a Tuvan filmed the video from the plane. On the footage, he says in the Tuvan language: “All two-hundredths, a full plane of cargo 200.”