Despite 6,500 Arrests, No Let-up from Russians Protesting Ukraine Invasion
Dissident leader Navalny, former US ambassador among those urging Russians to stay on the streets
Despite some 6,500 arrests and counting, there's no evidence that the Russian people plan to end their dramatic series of demonstrations and protests in cities across their immense country in opposition to autocratic leader Vladimir Putin's bloody invasion of Ukraine.
Russians have been in the streets of Moscow, St Petersburg — and so many other Russian cities — since Putin gave the order almost a week ago for the Russian military to undertake its lawless aggression against its sovereign and democratic neighbor to the west.
Russians have been protesting despite warnings from the Putin government that any protesters — even peaceful ones — would be subject to immediate arrest.
Indeed, the government had rounded up more than 6,000 Russians by deadline for this article.
Children, reportedly, have been swept up in the mass arrests.
The protests inside Russia have been a powerful signal of just how isolated Putin has been in his desire to launch an unprovoked attack on Ukraine, in that his own people won't stand with him.
Protests have spilled over to Minsk, in Belarus, given that Belarus has allied itself with Putin in the invasion and Belarusian troops are now fighting in Ukraine.
Prominent voices, both in and out of, Russia are spurring on the protests.
This includes longtime anti-Putin dissident Alexei Navalny, who is spurring on his countrymen from inside a jail cell himself.
“Be ready for arrests, Russia must not be a nation of silent cowards. I was born in the USSR when main slogan was ‘Fight for Peace'. All must FIGHT for peace, not only talk about peace. Putin is not Russia,” Navalny said.
American Michael McFaul, too, added his voice to the movement.
“There are no more ‘innocent’ ‘neutral’ Russians anymore. Everyone has to make a choice— support or oppose this war. The only way to end this war is if 100,000s, not thousands, protest against this senseless war. Putin can’t arrest you all!” tweeted McFaul, who was the US ambassador to Russia during the Obama administration.
Neither are the protests confined only to Russia’s largest cities, as demonstrators came out even in Yekaterinburg, east of the Ural Mountains, where angry Russians shouted, “Peace for Ukraine, Freedom for Russia!”
Do you find this post of value?
Please consider supporting our work by joining our Patreon for as little as $5…