Putin faces new anti-war protests as furious wives rebel against Kremlin and demand soldiers return home
Angry wives are piling pressure on Vladimir Putin as demonstrators demand soldiers return home from Ukraine
Reuters
Angry wives are piling pressure on Vladimir Putin as demonstrators demand soldiers return home from Ukraine.
Anti-war protests are being carried out by partners of troops who accuse military chiefs of lying to them by telling them that they would be in Ukraine for up to a year and they would not be sent to the frontline.
Maria Andreeva, the wife of a Russian soldier who remains in Ukraine, has become the front woman for the growing movement who are campaigning for the government to bring their husbands and sons home from the war.
She was detained by police and arrested while protesting in Moscow.
Maria Andreeva has become the front woman for the growing movement who are campaigning for the government to bring their husbands and sons home from the war
Reuters
"Our guys are busting their arses off at the front for the authorities and they have detained the wife of a mobilised soldier — can you believe it?" she shouted as she was led away.
Her sign read: "Freedom for mobilised troops! Bring back our husbands, fathers and sons!"
The Kremlin later released her without charge.
In September 2022, a total of 300,000 men were drafted into the army.
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"The war in Ukraine is a mistake and we will have to pay dearly for the short-sightedness of our government," Andreeva told The Times following her arrest.
"It’s only the authorities that need this war. It’s brought the people nothing but misery."
Her husband previously worked as a masseur and the couple have a two-year-old daughter. He could have avoided the war but signed up out of a sense of duty.
Andreeva has accused Russian authorities of lying to its people, she said: "They cheated us. In fact, I’d say they f***ed us over."
Petitions, protests and appeals to Putin are becoming increasingly visible.
Anti-war protests are being carried out by partners of troops who accuse military chiefs of lying to them
ReutersIt is thought that Russian officials are being told to stop the demonstrations spreading at any cost.
"Persuade, promise, pay. Anything, as long as it doesn’t go out into the streets," officials were told, according to the Insider.
"The wives of the mobilised soldiers have become a real pain in the backside for the Russian authorities,” said Michael Nacke, an exiled Russian journalist who is opposed to the war, in a recent online video.
"They are slowly turning into a real movement. The authorities do not understand what to do with them because on one hand these are enemies who show that not everything is as rosy as Putin claims.
"But on the other hand, these are women who say that they are generally for the war and victory over Ukraine."