RUSSIAN WIVES PROTEST AT KREMLIN
Authorities in Belgorod, faced with the risk of Ukrainian bombardments, cancelled the evening Orthodox Christmas celebrations on Saturday.
They had already extended the school holidays until Jan 19, and offered to evacuate the inhabitants of the city of 300,000 residents.
The unprecedented measures for a major Russian city are a blow to the ambitions of the Kremlin, which has always tried to give the impression that the conflict is not directly affecting the everyday life and safety of Russians.
In another unwelcome sign to Russian leaders, a group of wives of Russians mobilised to fight in Ukraine symbolically laid flowers Saturday at the flame of the unknown soldier right beneath the walls of the Kremlin and demanded the return of their husbands from the front.
Anger has been growing for months among relatives of reservists whom President Vladimir Putin mobilised in September 2022, seven months after the initial invasion of Ukraine.
The mobilisation is a sensitive subject for authorities, who have so far refrained from repressing signs of discontent.
Saturday saw some 15 women brave the winter cold to place red flowers at the site in the heart of the capital.
Paulina, the mother of a one-year-old child, said the protest is “the only peaceful action that has not yet been banned by law.
“I feel like we’re annoying them. But no one will remain silent. We shall carry on every day, every Saturday. We’ll lay flowers” to draw attention to the situation, she said.
“At some point, it will be impossible to ignore us,” added Paulina, saying she was determined to get back her husband.
Source: CNA
