Wives of Russian soldiers lay flowers in Moscow to protest against the Kremlin

A group of Russian wives whose husbands have been sent to fight in Ukraine came out to lay flowers at Moscow’s Eternal Flame near the Kremlin on Saturday – a gesture that one Russian news outlet described as a symbolic protest that war always means death.

Pickets also took place near the Ministry of Defence and the Presidential Administration buildings in the Russian capital.

The demonstrations do not legally require authorisation, but in recent years participants have often been detained by the authorities citing the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions still in place in Moscow.

Security forces were filmed trying to detain one of the participants of the “Way Home” movement. She was subsequently released after checking her documents.

“Our guys on the frontline are tearing their ass off for this government, and in return, the government is detaining their wives!” said Maria Andreeva.

According to members of the “Way Home” movement, laying flowers has become the only legal form of demonstration in Russia.

Women have been visiting the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, located in the Alexander Garden near the walls of the Kremlin, to pay tribute to the fallen and as a form of protest aimed at the authorities.

The group’s Telegram channel called for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s “mistake”, while there was no direct condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.