Over 5,000 Russian protesters have been arrested for the reason that nation's President Vladimir Putin despatched army forces to invade Ukraine, in response to knowledge from the human rights group.

OVD-Information, which is actively monitoring the variety of arrests in Russia, reported on Monday that not less than 5,941 Russian protesters have been arrested for the reason that nation first invaded Ukraine final week. On Sunday alone, the human rights group reported that over 2,800 Russians have been arrested throughout 56 completely different cities.

2,800 detained on Sunday, a lot of them will spend the day in courtroom right this moment. We often replace details about defenders from OVD-Information right here: https://t.me/ovdinfo/13528

The variety of Russian protesters arrested over the previous a number of days comes as battle continues to escalate between Russia and Ukraine with army fights occurring in quite a few Ukrainian cities, together with the nation's capital Kyiv.

Along with combating in Kyiv, Russian army forces have additionally launched an assault on Ukraine's second largest metropolis of Kharkiv. In a press release on Monday, Ukraine's inside ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko stated that "Kharkiv has simply been massively fired upon by grads (rockets). Dozens of useless and a whole lot of wounded."

In response to the invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he had despatched a delegation to the Belarusian border for peace talks with Russian officers.

As combating has continued to rage in Ukraine, dozens of Russian residents have taken to the streets to protest the struggle. A day after Russian army forces invaded Ukraine, over 1,700 Russian protesters have been arrested, in what was one of many nation's largest protests since residents rallied to help Kremlin-opposition chief Aleksei Navalny, who has been in jail for a number of months.

In a tweet on Monday saying the variety of arrests since Russia invaded Ukraine, OVD-Information stated that they're "conscious of quite a few circumstances of brutal arrests and unjustified violence in the direction of peaceable protesters. Police is utilizing stunt weapons and chokeholds, beating protesters over the pinnacle with batons. Now we have details about not less than one one that's had their arm damaged."

"Detainees' rights are additionally being violated: at police stations they're forcibly photographed and fingerprinted, their attorneys should not allowed contained in the police stations," the human rights group stated in a subsequent tweet.

In a press release final week, the Investigative Committee of Russia issued a press release warning residents that they could possibly be arrested for organizing and conducting "unauthorized occasions" akin to protests.

"We remind that requires participation and direct participation in occasions that aren't approved in accordance with the established process entail critical authorized penalties," the assertion stated. "In line with the Felony Code of the Russian Federation, individuals who dedicated such unlawful acts might face imprisonment."

Newsweek reached out to the Examine Committee of Russia for remark however didn't obtain a response in time for publication.

Russian Protests
Over 5,000 Russian protesters have been arrested for the reason that nation's army forces invaded Ukraine final week. Above, folks participate in a protest condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 28, 2022, in Quezon Metropolis, Metro Manila, Philippines. Ezra Acayan/Getty