Russian soldiers’ wives demand defence minister return their men from the front
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LONDON - A group of Russian women staged a small but rare protest outside the Defence Ministry in Moscow on June 3 to demand the return of mobilised soldiers from the front in Ukraine.
For months, different groups of Russian women have organised sporadic demonstrations to exert pressure on the authorities to bring back their husbands, sons and brothers who were mobilised after a decree by President Vladimir Putin in September 2022.
One of the 18 women at the protest on June 3, who gave her name as Paulina, told Reuters that the group had gathered to appeal personally to Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, an economist by training whom Mr Putin appointed to the job in May.
Paulina, who said she was 20 years old and had a husband fighting in Ukraine, said the women want Mr Belousov to impose strict limits on how long soldiers can serve before they must rotate out of active duty.
The women’s protests are sensitive for the authorities, given that the Kremlin presents what it calls the “special military operation” in Ukraine as having the overwhelming support of the Russian people.
In February, dozens of reporters, including a Reuters video journalist, were briefly detained while covering a demonstration by a group called Way Home.
Paulina said the women’s action on June 3 was not affiliated with Way Home, which Russia on May 31 designated a “foreign agent”, a term which carries negative Soviet-era connotations of spying.
She said none of the 18 women were arrested.
Pictures and videos Paulina published on the Telegram app showed women holding signs with slogans such as “Please bring Papa home”. Several had brought along their school-aged children and toddlers in pushchairs.
No ministry officials came out of the building to speak with the women, Paulina said.
The protest showcases the anger and despair that have gripped some soldiers’ families as the war in Ukraine grinds on into its third year, with no end in sight.
Mr Putin mobilised 300,000 reservists in September 2022 in an unpopular move that he has said there is no need to repeat because hundreds of thousands more have signed up voluntarily as contract soldiers.
He has vowed that Russian troops – who are currently advancing on some front lines – will not stop until they meet the goals of the “special military operation”. REUTERS
