Wives of mobilised Russian soldiers demand their return

Groups of women who are the relatives of men who were mobilised into the Russian army by President Vladimir Putin have been holding small-scale protests for months

Wives of mobilised Russian soldiers demand their return

The women kneeling outside the Russian Defence Ministry office in Moscow. Pic/AFP

A group of about 20 women got down on their knees outside Russia’s Defence Ministry to hold a rare protest and demand the return of their mobilised soldier husbands and sons from Ukraine.

Groups of women who are the relatives of men who were mobilised into the Russian army by President Vladimir Putin have been holding small-scale protests for months.

The women behind Monday’s protest asked for a meeting with Russia’s new minister of defense, Andrei Belousov, to demand that the men be allowed to return home and that authorities impose limits on how long soldiers can serve before they can be granted leave. They are also demanding that mobilised men are replaced with contract soldiers who have agreed to fight.

Russian authorities labelled the group Friday as a “foreign agent,” following several protests. The designation is a tactic used by Moscow to silence dissent.

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