Lots of young children who engaged in anti-war demonstrations have been arrested by Putin’s thugs according to an opposition politician in the country.
Since President Vladimir Putin began his invasion of Ukraine, protests have erupted in cities across Russia as people voice their anger.
Ilya Yashin shared pictures on social media of what appears to be three young children in the back of a police van.
He wrote on Twitter: “Nothing out of the ordinary: just kids in paddy wagons behind an anti-war poster. This is Putin’s Russia, folks. You live here.”
Ничего не обычного: просто дети в автозаках за антивоенный плакат. Это путинская Россия, ребята. Вам здесь жить. pic.twitter.com/9IprkFu5VE
— Илья Яшин (@IlyaYashin) March 1, 2022
He said in a Facebook post: “I am sure that the Kremlin propaganda will now raise a war: do not involve children in politics! they are to blame!
“I don’t know how these kids ended up at the protest. Maybe they came by themselves, maybe with their parents.
“But in fact, many generations in our country taught from the school bench that the worst thing is war, and the main value is the peaceful sky above the head.”
He added: “Children against war is damn normal! Children should absorb anti-war ideas with breast milk. And now this is equal to extremism – and this is madness.”
Almost 7,000 people have been detained so far in as many as 50 cities, according to the human rights project OVD-Info.
One senior Western intelligence official estimated that more than 5,000 Russian soldiers have been captured or killed. Ukraine gave no overall estimate of troop losses.
The UN human rights office said it has recorded 136 civilian deaths. The real toll is believed to be far higher.
The UK Ministry of Defence says it has seen an increase in Russian air and artillery strikes on populated urban areas over the past two days.
Many military experts worry that Russia may be shifting tactics. Moscow’s strategy in Chechnya and Syria was to use artillery and air bombardments to pulverize cities and crush fighters’ resolve.
