Police in Russia arrested nearly 1,400 people at anti-war protests staged in cities across the country after President Vladimir Putin launched an invasion of Ukraine.
“More than 1,391 people have already been detained in 51 cities,” said OVD-Info on Thursday, which tracks arrests at opposition rallies.
More than 700 people were arrested in Moscow and about 340 people in the second largest city Saint Petersburg, the monitor said.
Meanwhile, a rally has gathered in the center of Moscow. People chanted, "No to War!"
In addition to Moscow, cities such as: St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod.
Not without severe detentions, of course.#Ukraine #Moscow #PoliceBrutality #RussiaUkraineConflict #Putin pic.twitter.com/OITlOdtPxJ— 🆎 (@AbvandeLeur) February 24, 2022
The invasion of Ukraine is taking place during an unprecedented crackdown on the Russian opposition, with most protest leaders assassinated, jailed or forced out of the country.
A number of Russian activists called on social media for people to take to the streets after Putin launched the offensive on Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday.
In Moscow, protesters were seen massing around Pushkin Square chanting “No to war!”
In recent years Russia has toughened protest laws, and demonstrations often end in mass arrests.
Jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who used to mobilise Russia’s largest protests against Putin, is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence in a penal colony outside Moscow.
Earlier Thursday, Navalny said he was against the invasion of Ukraine.
“I am against this war,” Navalny was heard saying in a video published by the independent television channel Dozhd.
“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,” the 45-year-old said.
Earlier Thursday, Russian authorities warned anti-war sympathisers against gathering for protests.