The arrests came as Boris Johnson announced the ‘most severe’ sanctions Russia has seen
Footage has emerged showing brave Russians protesting against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine being forceable dragged off the streets.
Up to 1,000 people are said to have turned up to anti-war protests in central Moscow calling on the president to halt his invasion that began early Thursday and has continued to ramp up ever since.
Police clashed with demonstrators in the historic Pushkin Square, where crowds are thought to be attempting to push through a barricade blocking them from marching to the Kremlin, Metro reported.
Fearless Russians defy secret police to protest invasion of Ukraine.
They face certain imprisonment and possible felony charges. pic.twitter.com/iUrfbQdFYA
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) February 24, 2022
A journalist with the Daily Telegraph claimed protesters were being dragged away “indiscriminately” and said she was briefly detained despite telling officers she was a journalist.
Footage circulating on social media shows armour-clad riot police marching through Moscow’s streets. Other videos appear to show people being arrested and bundled into police vehicles.
Russian news site, The Insider, reported that Marina Litvinovich, a prominent opposition figure who called for protest, was arrested as soon as she left her house.
Protesters are reportedly being warned they will be prosecuted for public order offences.
#НетВойнеСУкраиной ("Say no to war with Ukraine").
Translation: In Moscow, police detained six participants in anti-war solo pickets, including human rights activists Lev Ponomarev and Yury Samodurov, Sota reports. https://t.co/DhVcD3Xbs3— tadd igarashi (@taddihno) February 22, 2022
Anti-war solo pickets like this are popping up in cities across Russia. It’s not much but they’re arrested almost immediately, often upon leaving their homes when the cops know to expect them. Here’s Sofya Rusova, co-chair of Russia’s Trade Union of Journalists. pic.twitter.com/5NVqdGyhFy
— Kevin Rothrock (@KevinRothrock) February 24, 2022
Related Links
- Ukraine invasion: PM brands Putin’s attack ‘heinous and barbaric’ and ‘must end in failure’
- Ukraine invasion: Everything we know so far and what it means for the UK
- Ukraine’s Twitter compares Putin to Hitler after Russia launch full-scale invasion
- Putin says West will face ‘consequences never encountered in your history’ in chilling warning
- Trump calls Putin ‘savvy’ and ‘genius’ as escalations on Russia-Ukraine border rise
