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At least 745 people were arrested during protests across Russia against President Vladimir Putin’s partial mobilization of reserve forces, the New York Times reported on the 24th (local time).
Protests continued across Russia following Putin’s announcement of a mobilization order that could send around 300,000 civilians to war in Ukraine, according to the human rights group ODV-IFO.
The protest, with the slogan “No mobilization to the grave”, is practically criminalized in Russia.
On the same day, Putin passed amendments to the Penal Code that impose severe sanctions on those who refuse or flee military service during mobilization or martial law or during war.
In addition to refusing military service or fleeing, those who do not obey orders or resist superiors can be sentenced to up to 15 years in prison. In particular, the revised bill specified “during mobilization” as well as “during war”, making not only professional soldiers but also reservists accountable.
Scenes of police officers violently repressing protesters in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, Tomsk and Khabarovsk are currently posted on social networks.
Protests against the mobilization order continued across Russia on the 21st, with over 1,300 arrests in 38 regions.
Thousands of troops have been mobilized across Russia for the first time since World War II, the New York Times said.
That evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky encouraged Russian protesters in a speech in Russian.
“Russian commanders don’t care about Russian lives,” he said.
The New York Times, citing independent Russian media, reported that the Russian government plans to mobilize up to 1.2 million people.
Reporter Noh Jeong-dong, Hankyung.com [email protected]
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