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A new anti-war movement is gaining traction in Russia and Ukraine
While Putin hands out 15-year sentences and Zelensky hands out AK47s to civilians banned from leaving, thousands are protesting or resisting the military non-violently. The world needs to see them, writes SYMON HILL
Demonstrators shout slogans during an action against Russia's attack on Ukraine in St Petersburg, Russia, Sunday, February 27, 2022

THERE IS a new joke going round Russia: “What’s the easiest way to clear the snow from your street? Write No To War in the snow — and the police will clear it for you.”

Footage on social media shows police obliterating anti-war messages written in the snow. But the Russian peace movement will not be so easily stamped out.

The size of anti-war protests in Russia has taken everyone by surprise. Russian police have carried out over 13,000 arrests of peace protesters since the invasion of Ukraine began. Over a million people in Russia have signed petitions against the war.

Hope amid the horror

Rejecting militarism

An international struggle

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