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‘No to war!’: Over 1,700 anti-war protesters detained in Russia after offensive
Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, which started on Thursday, has led to 137 deaths; more than 350 were left wounded.
Russia has detained more than 1,700 people that protested against Moscow's action to launch a full-scale evacuation in Ukraine on Thursday - a move that has evoked global condemnation. According to a report by news agency AFP, about 1,000 people gathered in the former imperial capital Saint Petersburg on Thursday while several thousands gathered near Pushkin Square in central Moscow. Protesters in the Pushkin square chanted: "No to war!"
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"I am in shock. My relatives and loved ones live in Ukraine," Anastasia Nestulya, told AFP in Moscow on Thursday. "What can I tell them over the phone? You hang in there?" she said, adding that people were afraid to protest.
On the other hand, in Saint Petersburg, masked police officers were seen forcibly dragging protesters to detain them. The protesters also demanded Putin's arrest. "I have a feeling that the authorities have gone mad," Svetlana Volkova told the news agency on Thursday, adding people had been fooled by propaganda. Apart from the locals, jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been the harshest critic of Vladimir Putin and his governance, said that he was against the invasion of Ukraine.
"This war between Russia and Ukraine was unleashed to cover up the theft from Russian citizens and divert their attention from problems that exist inside the country," Navalny added.
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Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine, which started on Thursday, has led to 137 deaths; more than 350 were left wounded.
The attack began with the Russian military launching a series of missile strikes on cities and on key government and military installations. In the capital city of Kyiv, thousands of people sought shelter in the subway stations that doubled as bomb shelters.
Elsewhere, thousands of civilians have fled Ukraine and crossed into neighbouring countries mostly Moldova and Romania.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has been ignoring global condemnation, especially from the West, has defended his actions against Ukraine and warned any country that tries to interfere will "face consequences never seen before".
