February 27, 2022
20:31
–
Russian anti-war activists from Moscow to Siberia took to the streets again today to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, despite police arresting hundreds of protesters each day, the Associated Press reported.
Protesters marched in downtown chants chanting “No to War!” As President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear deterrent to be put on high alert, raising the Kremlin’s opposition to the West and fueling fears of nuclear war.
“I have two sons and I do not want to give them to this bloody monster. The war is a tragedy for all of us,” 48-year-old Dmitry Maltsev, who joined the rally in St. Petersburg, told the AP.
Protests against the invasion began in Russia on Thursday and have continued every day since, although Russian police quickly suppressed rallies and detained protesters. The Kremlin is trying to downplay the protests, insisting that a much larger number of Russians support the attack on Ukraine.
In St. Petersburg, where several hundred people gathered in the city center, police in full riot gear grabbed protesters one after another and drove some of them into police vans, although the demonstration was peaceful. Police in Moscow show police knocking several protesting women to the ground and dragging them somewhere.
According to the human rights organization ATS-Info, which monitors political arrests, police have detained at least 1,474 Russians in 45 cities tonight for anti-war demonstrations that day. A total of 5,238 people have been detained since the protests began on February 24.
