Vladimir Putin The World Doesn't Want Your War: Thousands Arrested In Russia At Anti-War Protests
Authorities have detained around 3,500 people across Russia on Sunday at various protests against Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, the country's interior ministry has said.
It has been reported that approximately 1,700 people were arrested in Moscow and 750 in St Petersburg, arrests were made in other Russian cities as at least 49 other protests took place, including in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, and the port city of Vladivostok, according to the OVD-Info project - an independent Russian human rights monitoring group.
The group said that since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, more than 100 Russian cities have hosted protests, resulting in at least 10,900 people being detained.
On Saturday, Russia's interior ministry warned that any attempt to hold unauthorised demonstrations would be prevented and those who organised them would be held accountable.
Maria Kuznetsova, OVD-Info's spokeswoman, told Reuters, "The screws are being fully tightened - essentially we are witnessing military censorship." "We are seeing rather big protests today, even in Siberian cities where we only rarely see such number of arrests."
A video was posted on social media that showed a protester in the Russian city of Khabarovsk shouting, "No to war - how are you not ashamed" he was quickly detained by two policemen.
Police communicated via loudspeakers, telling protesters in the city: "Respected citizens, you are taking part in an unsanctioned public event. We demand you disperse."
Jailed Kremlin enemy and critic Alexei Navalny, had called for protests on Sunday across Russia and the rest of the world.
In the centre of Almaty, Kazakhstan's biggest city, around 2,000 people attended an anti-war protest.
They were shouting "Putin is a d*ckhead", and "No to war", many of them were waving Ukrainian flags.
People put yellow and blue balloons in the hand of a Lenin statue that looks over the square where the demonstration took place.
On Saturday, several thousand Ukrainians protested on the streets of Kherson, the only major city to have come under Russian control since the start of the invasion.
The Ukrainians shouted, "Kherson is Ukraine", whilst demanding that the Russian occupiers left their land.
Moscow-based journalist, Eva Hartog, tweeted: "Today, anti-war protests are being held throughout Russia."
"Keep in mind every single protester you see risks a 15-year sentence for speaking out today."
"Between 50k and 100k Russians have fled the country in recent days. Many of them critics of the Kremlin who would have likely joined today's protests had they stayed. Something to keep in mind when talking turnout." Although the illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine continues, it would appear that many Russians are realizing the war crimes that their president Vladimir Putin and his regime are committing.
If you want to see what is really happening on the ground in Ukraine, take a look at Reality Of The Invasion, Dead Russian Soldiers & Murdered Ukrainian Civilians *Graphic Content*