Lauren C. Moye, FISM News
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In the latest sign of lackluster support of the Ukraine war among Russians, more than 800 people were detained Saturday for protesting the Kremlin’s mobilization effort, according to an independent protest monitoring group.
Eight-hundred-twenty-three Russians were detained in 32 cities after protesting the first Russian military draft since World War Two, according to the Russian protest monitoring group OVD.
“Do you want to be like me?” read a placard held by a woman in a wheelchair at a rally in Moscow, according to one Reuters report.
Rallies held without proper sanctioning are illegal under Russian law. It is also illegal to hold activities that are perceived to oppose actions taken by the armed forces.
To bolster faltering troop numbers and the loss of ground to a Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the mobilization with the stated goal of securing 300,000 additional troops.
In the few days since then, OVD has tracked at least 2,205 detainments in connection to the protests from among 42 cities. Each report contains a disclaimer warning that they only publish names they know for certain and are allowed to share. Police departments may have detained more than what is on their lists.
The number of individuals and cities involved shows the widespread discontent and lack of support from Russian civilians for the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. While civilians have risked arrest by engaging in anti-war protests since Russian troops first crossed into Ukraine’s sovereign territory on Feb. 24, the mobilization has raised the stakes for these citizens.
For some, it’s enough to attempt to flee the country.
Reuters reported that there has been a queue of multiple hours at the Russian border to cross into Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Finland, or Georgia. Russian minority groups, like the Mongols, are noted as those most concerned.
While the draft is supposed to prioritize those with military experience, there have been reports of individuals with no prior experience being handed draft papers. The governor of Buryatia, which contains a Mongol minority, admitted that some had received papers erroneously and would be exempt.
However, some world leaders have encouraged the exodus.
Tsakhia Elbegdorj, head of the World Mongol Federation, said that Russia used Mongols as “cannon fodder.” He told them, “Today you are fleeing brutality, cruelty, and likely death. Tomorrow you will start freeing your country from dictatorship.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in Russian yesterday, “Running away from this criminal mobilization is better than being maimed and then having to answer in court for having taken part in an aggressive war.”
Reports of Russian citizens who have wrongly received draft papers have infuriated some Kremlin officials.
The editor of the state-run RT news channel is one who uncharacteristically criticized Putin’s orders. Margarita Simonyan noted that 40-year-olds had received summonses despite the age limit for private recruitment ending at 35.
The editor then noted on Telegram, “They’re infuriating people, as if on purpose, as if out of spite. As if they’d been sent by Kyiv.”
“Such excesses are absolutely unacceptable. And, I consider it absolutely right that they are triggering a sharp reaction in society,” she said in a post on the Telegram messaging app,” stated Valentina Matviyenko, who is one of Russia’s top parliamentarians and the chair of Russia’s Federation Council.
In addition to the mobilization, Russia also began holding referendums with the apparent goal of annexing Ukrainian territory on Friday. Votes will be held until Tuesday.
World leaders have called these votes a “sham referendum” and vowed not to validate the results. Reports have surfaced of coercion used to make Ukrainian citizens vote.
However, concerns are mounting that Russia will use the annexation of Ukrainian territory as grounds to take retaliatory action against any efforts to retake the land. This may include the use of nuclear weapons.
On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov answered this question by saying the territories would be “under the full protection of the state.”
This includes Moscow’s doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons could be applied to the territory.