Russia police arrest anti-war protesters

Kyiv, March 3 : As Russian forces continue to fire artillery in Ukraine, the anti-war protesters in Russia are being detained. According to The Guardian, the Russian police on Wednesday reportedly detained a well-known survivor of the Siege of Leningrad, Yelena Osipova, at an anti-war protest in St Petersburg. The video of Russian officers removing the 77-year-old activist from the protest site have been widely circulated in the social media. Thousands of people in cities across Russia have been defying police threats and staging protests against the invasion of Ukraine, Te Guardian reported. On Wednesday, jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny said in a series of tweets, “We – Russia – want to be a nation of peace. Alas, few people would call us that now. But let’s at least not become a nation of frightened silent people. Of cowards who pretend not to notice the aggressive war against Ukraine unleashed by our obviously insane czar. “I cannot, do not want and will not remain silent watching how pseudo-historical nonsense about the events of 100 years ago has become an excuse for Russians to kill Ukrainians, and for Ukrainians to kill Russians while defending themselves. “It’s the third decade of the 21st century, and we are watching news about people burning down in tanks and bombed houses. We are watching real threats to start a nuclear war on our TVs. “I am from the USSR myself. I was born there. And the main phrase from there – from my childhood – was “fight for peace.” I call on everyone to take to the streets and fight for peace. Putin is not Russia. “And if there is anything in Russia right now that you can be most proud of, it is those 6824 people who were detained because – without any call – they took to the streets with placards saying ‘No War’. “If in order to stop the war we have to fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves, we will fill prisons and paddy wagons with ourselves,” he added. RNJ