Russian security forces detained people protesting alone against the Russian military campaign in Ukraine in several cities today, reported the OVD-Info organization, dedicated to accompanying detainees and declared a foreign agent by Moscow.
At least four people were arrested in the center of Barnaul, in eastern Siberia, on the day that marks the first anniversary of the large-scale military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Armed Forces.
One of the detainees is a resident of the place who held a sign with the phrase “Don’t shut up” in a square. The rest of the detainees deposited flowers, guarantees this organization.
Seven people were also detained in Yekaterinburg (next to the Urals) in front of the three-meter bronze statue erected in 2017 in memory of the victims of Stalinist repressions.
Five other people were detained near the monument to Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko in Saint Petersburg and where they laid flowers.
Arrests were also recorded in Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Irkutsk or Nizhny Novgorod, where a municipal deputy carrying a sign with the phrase “Peace to Ukraine. Soldier, come home” was arrested.
In the past 12 months, OVD-Info recorded 19,586 arrests across the country in 76 Russian regions during protests against the Russian military campaign in Ukraine.
At least 447 people have been prosecuted for their participation in anti-war protests, with 128 currently in custody.
On March 4, 2022, eight days after launching his “special military operation” in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law a law punishing the spread of “false information” about the Russian military with large fines or three to 15 years in prison.
Specifically, the decree provides for between 10 and 15 years in prison for spreading false information about the Armed Forces that entails “serious consequences.”
It also provides for prison sentences of up to five years for “public actions” that seek to discredit the actions of the Russian Armed Forces “in defense of the interests of Russia and its citizens, in the preservation of international peace and security.”
The military offensive launched on February 24, 2022 by Russia in Ukraine has so far caused the flight of more than 14 million people -6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than eight million to European countries-, according to the latest data. recent reports from the UN, which classifies this refugee crisis as the worst in Europe since the Second World War (1939-1945).
Right now, at least 17.7 million Ukrainians are in need of humanitarian aid and 9.3 million are in need of food aid and housing.
The Russian invasion was condemned by the broader international community, which has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
The UN presented as confirmed since the beginning of the war 7,199 dead civilians and 11,756 wounded, stressing that these figures are far from the real ones.
Source: TSF
