Ukraine war: Russians turn on Putin as Kremlin threatens to jail ‘traitors’ who try to help Ukraine
Russians turn on Putin: Massive anti-war protests break out in Moscow and St Petersburg for fourth day in a row – as Kremlin threatens to jail ‘traitors’ who offer to help Ukraine
Massive anti-war protests have erupted across Russia for the fourth day in a row over Ukraine invasionRussians in cities spanning from Moscow to Siberia have taken to the streets again on Sunday Police had detained at least 356 Russians in 32 cities by Sunday afternoon, OVD-Info rights group saidVladimir Putin’s state has launched a sweeping crackdown on internal criticism of the Ukraine war
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
Massive anti-war protests have erupted across Russia for the fourth day in a row, as Vladimir Putin’s war on dissent took an ominous turn on Sunday after the state threatened to jail ‘traitors’ who provide any form of help to embattled Ukraine for 20 years.
Russians in cities spanning from Moscow to Siberia have taken to the streets again on Sunday to protest the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine on Thursday.
Peaceful demonstrators in the Russian capital Moscow and St Petersburg chanted ‘No to war’ before police in riot gear grabbed them and dragged them into police vans.
According to the OVD-Info rights group that tracks political arrests, by Sunday afternoon Russian police had detained at least 356 Russians in 32 cities.
Protests against Putin’s unpopular war started on Thursday and have continued for four days in a row, despite police swiftly moving to detain hundreds of people each day.
The Russian state has launched a sweeping crackdown on internal criticism of the Ukraine war, and today dramatically accused anyone who provides help to the country of ‘treason to the Motherland’.
A demonstrator is detained by police officers in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
A demonstrator is detained by police officers in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
Police detain a demonstrator in St Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, February 27, 2022
Demonstrators face police officers during an anti-war protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow on February 27, 2022
Police detain a demonstrator during an action against Russia’s attack on Ukraine in St Petersburg, February 27, 2022
People participate in a protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
Demonstrators face police officers during a protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
Riot police officers detain women during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in Moscow on February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow on February 27, 2022
People take part in a protest against Russian invasion of Ukraine, in Moscow, Russia February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow on February 27, 2022
Vladimir Putin visits the National Space Centre construction site in Moscow on February 27, 2022
The Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia said in a statement: ‘For each fact of providing financial and other assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation, a legal assessment will be given.’
Russia’s Interfax agency reported that ‘the provision of financial, logistical, consulting or other assistance to a foreign state, an international or foreign organization or their representatives in activities directed against the security of the Russian Federation contains signs of a crime under Article 275 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (high treason)’.
On Saturday, the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor ordered media to remove reports describing the Kremlin’s attack on Ukraine as an ‘assault, invasion or declaration of war’ – or face being fined or shut down.
The regulator accused several independent media outlets including television channel Dozhd and the country’s top independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta of spreading ‘unreliable socially significant untrue information’ about the shelling of Ukrainian cities by the Russian army and civilian deaths.
Citing a request from the General Prosecutor’s Office, Roskomnadzor said the media outlets that also include Echo of Moscow radio will be blocked unless they remove the ‘unreliable information’.
Police officers detain a man as people take part in an anti-war protest, in Moscow, Russia, February 27, 2022
People protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Saint Petersburg on February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a person that takes part in an anti-war protest in Saint Petersburg, Russia, February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in central Moscow on February 27, 2022
Riot police officers block Moscow’s Pushkinskaya Square on February 27, 2022
Police officers detain a man during an anti-war protest in central Saint Petersburg on February 27, 2022
The Russian media regulator also said that ‘reliable information’ could be found in ‘official Russian information outlets’.
‘Roskomnadzor also launched an administrative investigation into the dissemination of unreliable publicly significant information by the above-mentioned media,’ the watchdog said. The offence is punishable by a fine of up to 5 million rubles ($60,000), it said.
Moscow has not so far provided any details of Russian losses in the fighting in the face of statements from Kyiv that they have inflicted heavy casualties on Moscow’s forces.
The invasion of Ukraine is taking place during an unprecedented attack on the Russian opposition, with top protest leaders assassinated, jailed or forced out of the country.
It comes after human rights advocates warned of a new wave of repression on dissent in Russia as protests got underway.
‘There will be new (criminal) cases involving subverters, spies, treason, prosecution for antiwar protests, there will be detentions of journalists and bloggers, those who authored critical posts on social media, bans on investigations of the situation in the army and so on,’ prominent human rights advocate Pavel Chikov wrote on Facebook.
‘It is hard to say how big this new wave will be, given that everything has been suppressed already.’
More than 150 senior Russian officials signed an open letter condemning Putin’s invasion as ‘an unprecedented atrocity’ and warning of ‘catastrophic consequences’.
The deputies said they were convinced Russian citizens do not back the war and blamed Putin ‘personally’ for ordering troops into Ukraine in an attack ‘for which there is no and cannot be justification’.
Several Russian celebrities and public figures, including those working with state TV, have spoken out against the attack as well.
