According to media reports, about 24 people, mostly journalists, were briefly detained at a protest in central Moscow. Wives and relatives of Russian servicemen mobilised to fight in Ukraine gathered to call for their return. The soldiers’ relatives gathered on Saturday at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, just outside the Kremlin walls, to lay flowers and mark the 500 days since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a “partial mobilisation” of up to 300,000 reservists in Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
The call-up was widely unpopular, and the wives and relatives of some of the reservists campaigned for them to be discharged and replaced with contract soldiers. Saturday’s demonstration was organised by one of these campaign groups, The Way Home.
One protester, who only gave her name as Antonina for fear of reprisals, expressed her desire for the safe return of her husband. She rejected the idea of compensation from the government if her husband is killed and instead stated that she would either go to a convent or follow him.
The demonstration was the ninth and largest of similar weekly gatherings organised by The Way Home, with about 200 people turning out. However, about 20 people, mostly journalists, were detained and then released at the protest. Some were detained by police outside Red Square and taken to a police station.
Protesters rejected accusations of being Western stooges and expressed their sadness at the conflict happening between two brotherly peoples. They also criticized the decision to keep the soldiers in the ranks as long as the fighting continues.
The protest came weeks before the Russian presidential election, scheduled to take place in March. Some relatives of soldiers went to Putin’s campaign headquarters to present their demands, while others met with a Russian presidential hopeful who openly opposes the war in Ukraine.