Russia has arrested more than 1,700 people protesting Moscow's decision to launch a full-scale evacuation in Ukraine on Thursday, a move that has been condemned around the world. According to a report by the AFP news agency, some 1,000 people gathered in the former imperial capital Saint Petersburg on Thursday, while several thousand gathered near Pushkin Square in central Moscow. Protesters in Pushkin Square chanted "No to war!"
"I am in shock. My relatives and loved ones live in Ukraine," Anastasia Nestulya told AFP in Moscow on Thursday. "What can I tell them on the phone? You hang in there?" she said, adding that people were afraid to protest.
In contrast, in St. Petersburg, masked police were seen forcibly dragging protesters to arrest them. Protesters also demanded Putin's arrest. "I have a feeling that the authorities have gone mad," Svetlana Volkova told the news agency on Thursday, adding that people had been misled by the propaganda. Besides locals, imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who has been the harshest critic of Vladimir Putin and his government, has said he is against invasion of Ukraine.
“This war between Russia and Ukraine was unleashed to cover up the theft from Russian citizens and divert their attention from the problems that exist inside the country,” Navalny added.
Russia's large-scale attack on Ukraine, which began on Thursday, has led to 137 deaths; more than 350 were injured.
The attack began when the Russian military launched a series of missile attacks on cities and key government and military installations. In the capital city of Kyiv, thousands of people sought refuge in subway stations that also served as bomb shelters.
Elsewhere, thousands of civilians have fled Ukraine and crossed into neighboring countries, mainly Moldova and Romania.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has ignored global condemnation, particularly from the West, has defended his actions against Ukraine, warning that any country that tries to interfere will "face consequences never seen before".
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