ROUNDUP: Hundreds arrested in anti-mobilization protests in Russia

MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) – In protests against the Kremlin boss Wladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization, hundreds of people have been arrested in Russia. The civil rights portal OVD-Info counted 735 arrests across Russia on Wednesday evening. 260 demonstrators were arrested in the capital Moscow and 267 in St. Petersburg. The largest rallies were also held in the country’s two largest cities. In Moscow, people chanted “Russia without Putin”.

In Tomsk and Irkutsk in Siberia, in Yekaterinburg in the Urals and in other places, isolated people took to the streets. They held placards with the colors of the Ukrainian flag and slogans like “No to mobilization!” up. In view of the massive state repression in Russia, the protests are unlikely to be too large.

In Moscow, for example, the authorities warned against participation even before the start of a planned demonstration: the public prosecutor threatened people with up to 15 years in prison. Since the start of the war against Ukraine almost seven months ago, the Russian government has been taking tough action against members of the opposition and opponents of the war, including stricter laws.

In a televised speech on Wednesday morning, President Putin ordered the partial mobilization of Russia’s armed forces. A total of 300,000 reservists are to be drafted to fight against Ukraine. The background is likely to be Russia’s personnel difficulties in the war of aggression that began on February 24./haw/DP/jha

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