WATCH: Russians Take to Streets to Protest Ukraine Invasion, Hundreds Arrested in Police Crackdown

Alex GriffingFeb 24th, 2022, 1:51 pm
 

As Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, anti-war protesters in cities across Russia were being arrested by the hundreds by police.

Reuters reported as of early evening that some 549 people had been arrested in 39 cities across Russia for protesting the invasion, according to the OVD-Info protest monitor.

Russia under President Vladimir Putin has been known for detaining anti-government protesters in large numbers. CNN reported live from Moscow on Thursday as some of those arrests were happening.

“There isn’t so much of a central protest here. These are some leaders here in this central area of Moscow,” CNN’s Nick Robertson reported live in Moscow. “While we’ve been here for the last 45 minutes another person is being dragged out of the subway there, being dragged by the police, being arrested, pressed up against the vehicle. We’ve seen dozens of people being arrested here over the last 45 minutes.”

“The government says they’ve not authorized protests,” Robertson added. “They have warned people not to attend them. They say people can get arrested, that there will be legal repercussions, and the government even says if you GE a criminal record for criminal activity at one of these events, then that can affect you for the rest of your life.”

CNN anchor Erin Burnett signed off with Robertson, offering words of praise for the protesters, “It is bold, it is brave what they are doing.”

Below are scenes of Russian police cracking down on protests posted to social media:

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Alex Griffing - Senior Editor

Alex Griffing is a Senior Editor at Mediaite. Send tips via email: alexanderg@mediaite.com. Follow him on Twitter: @alexgriffing