Relatives of the Russian conscripts protested with their children and demanded that the men be returned home from the war started by the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
Points of attention
- Wives of Russian military protest in Moscow against the ongoing mobilisation of soldiers for the war in Ukraine, demanding the return of their loved ones.
- Relatives of missing and killed Russian soldiers become vocal critics of the Putin regime, questioning the lack of transparency and government censorship regarding casualties.
- Social media groups with tens of thousands of members are formed by families seeking information and answers about their missing loved ones, highlighting the growing dissent within Russian society.
- The Kremlin's refusal to disclose official data on soldiers missing in action or killed fuels public anger and raises doubts among Russians about the government's handling of the war.
- While the opposition to Putin's actions regarding the Ukraine war does not currently pose a significant threat, the discontent among affected families and the public could potentially escalate into broader dissent.
Wives of Russian protested in Moscow against mobilisation
As noted, the protest was held near Moscow's Russian Ministry of Defence building. There, the wives and mothers of the mobilised came out demanding a meeting with the new minister, Bilousov.
We want the new minister to hear us, to meet with us and start solving our problem, the women emphasise.
Mobilised and contract workers who have been there for an incredible amount of time, they deserved to go home, the women said.
They also noted that unknown people were being watched and filmed near the ministry building. In this connection, the woman called the police.
It is also noted that the policemen began to write down the personal data of the women, and there is a car parked nearby. There are currently no arrests.
Russian opposition to Putin is growing by relatives of missing soldiers in Ukraine
WSJ journalists note that the mothers and wives of Russian soldiers killed and missing in the war against Ukraine have become one of the most active critics of the criminal actions of the Putin regime in the Kremlin.
The grief and anger is compounded by the lack of transparency from the Russian government regarding soldiers who are missing or presumed dead. Groups have appeared in Russian social networks, in which tens of thousands of relatives and friends of missing soldiers participate, where they share information in the hope of finding out what happened, the article emphasises.
It is noted that angry Russians question claims that society supports the Kremlin's criminal war against Ukraine.
While the tension does not yet pose a serious threat to Putin, it could eventually turn into a broader dissent. The Kremlin has banned coverage of the war inside the country and does not release any official data on soldiers missing. The last time the Russian Ministry of Defense provided public data on the number of its soldiers killed in Ukraine was in September 2022, when 5,937 people were reported dead. According to US estimates, more than 300,000 Russian servicemen were wounded or killed, the authors of the material note.
