Anti-war protests broke out all over Russia, causing authorities to detain more than 500 people as people all over the world continue to condemn Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Russian authorities have detained up to 559 across more than 20 cities where people have gathered to protest President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Protests have sparked in 21 cities, including the port city of Vladivostok and the Siberian city of Irkutsk.
"Respected citizens, you are taking part in an unsanctioned public event. We demand you disperse," Russian authorities told protesters over a loudspeaker, as per Fox News.
An independent human rights project geared towards political prosecution in Russia called OVD-Info reported that protests have occurred in up to 21 cities across Russia. But the number of detainees at the hands of Russian authorities have not yet been interdependently verified.
According to an OVD-Info report last Wednesday, Russian authorities have arrested up to 8,100 people at anti-war protests in Russia since Putin's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. As of Sunday afternoon, the number of people arrested has increased to up to 13,000. The protests sparked when the Russian government ordered the shut down of independent news outlets, including TV Rain and Ekho Moskvy, and after activists called for mass protests against Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
Prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, who had been arrested by the Russian government, called for protests on Saturday through a post on his blog. He rallied Russians to be unafraid of crackdowns on such demonstrations.
"Show the world that Russians don't want war. Come out in the squares of Berlin, New York, Amsterdam or Melbourne, wherever you are," Navalny urged his countrymen. "Now we are all responsible for Russia's future. For what Russia will be in the eyes of the world."
Navalny added, "You may be scared, but to submit to this fear is to side with fascists and murderers. Putin has already snatched away from Russia its economy, relations with the world and hope for a future."
On Sunday alone, Russian police arrested more than 4,300 people protesting Putin's invasion of Ukraine, Reuters reported. Thousands of protesters chanted "No to war!" and "Shame on you!" as seen in videos posted on social media by activists and bloggers opposing the Russian government.
Videos showed dozens of protesters being arrested in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, while one protester was shown being beaten on the ground by Russian police wearing riot gear. A mural of Putin in the city had also been defaced.
While the media outlet was unable to verify the footage and photographs on social media, Russia's interior ministry confirmed earlier that they had captured about 3,500 people, including 1,700 in Moscow, 750 in St. Petersburg and 1,061 in other cities. The interior ministry of Russia also said that 5,200 people had participated in the protests against Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, OVD-Info said that they documented the detention of 4,366 people in 56 different cities.
The last time this many protesters had come out and been arrested was back in January 2021, when thousands demanded the release of Navalny, who has long led the opposition against Putin and was arrested when he came to Russia from Germany, where he had been recovering after being poisoned.
