Protesters in Russia have been detained for days after they staged demonstrations against Vladimir Putin's full-scale war in Ukraine. This time reports have emerged that Russian police have snatched primary school children for showing their support to Ukraine and asking Moscow to end the war.
The anti-war protests flared up in Russia last week soon after Moscow launched its assault on Ukraine. They risk jail and even face treason charges over opposing Putin's decision.
The detention reports of children emerged as a Russian opposition politician shared heart-rending images of kids detained in the back of a police van after taking part in anti-war protests.
'This is Putin's Russia'
Ilya Yashin on Tuesday shared pictures of children, who were reportedly going to lay flowers at the city's Ukrainian embassy.
In the picture shared by the politician, one girl is shown holding a sign that says 'No War' in Russian. Small Russian and Ukrainian flags have been painted around the words. To the right, the two flags are drawn followed by a small pink heart, to say 'Russia plus Ukraine equals love', reported Daily Mail.
So far, Russian police have detained 7,000 people in nearly 50 cities countrywide, as per OVD-Info - an organization that tracks protests in the country.
Another photo tweeted by Yashin shows the girl in the pink jacket standing up against metal bars that are keeping them inside the van. Her face appears red as if she had been crying.
"Nothing out of the ordinary: just kids in paddy wagons behind an anti-war poster. This is Putin's Russia, folks. You live here," read the translation of Ilya Yashin's tweet on Wednesday.
Yashin's third picture suggested that the kids were taken to a police station. Kids' 'No war' banners are laid out on the desk behind the girl as seen in the picture.
Anti-War Posters
Recalling his days at the school, Yashin said that he and his classmates used to draw anti-war posters and there were no such detentions as happening now stressing, children against war is damn normal.
Yashin was banned from running for office in 2021 as he was branded an 'extremist' for his support of Russian opposition leader Alexi Navalny.
The images were picked up and shared by reporters. One said that the children were taken by their mothers to lay flowers at the Ukrainian embassy in Moscow.
Nearly 1700 protesters were arrested in Russia on Sunday only in the 46 cities of the country over opposing Putin's war in Ukraine, according to OVD-Info.
