As children in Ukraine hunker down in bomb shelters seeking safety from Vladimir Putin’s invasion, youngsters in Russia huddle together in the back of police vans, allegedly detained for protesting against their president’s decision to launch a devastating war.

The Kremlin has clamped down hard on anti-war demonstrations, with human rights organisation OVD-Info estimating that almost 7,000 people have been detained in 50 cities since the conflict began on February 24.

Ilya Yashin, a Russian opposition politician, shared photos of children no older than primary school age sitting in the back of what he claimed was a Moscow police van clutching banners and flowers.

One girl can be seen holding a sign bearing the words ‘No War’ in Russian alongside small flags next to a heart, saying ‘Russia + Ukraine = Love’.

For the latest updates on the Russia-Ukraine war, visit our live blog: Russia-Ukraine live

Five children said to be between the ages of seven and 11 were reportedly detained with their two mothers as they travelled to the Ukrainian embassy building to lay anti-war banners.

Video footage shows a small girl sobbing as she asks ‘I don’t understand. Why are we sitting here?’, the Telegraph reports.

Out of view, a woman can be heard explaining that ‘many people don’t agree with her about the war’, before adding: ‘Everything will be okay.’

Reports in the Russian media said the children and their mothers were all eventually released without charge – but not before they were threatened with separation.

Mr Yashin captioned his Twitter post: ‘Nothing out of the ordinary: just kids in paddy wagons behind an anti-war poster. This is Putin’s Russia, folks. You live here.’

‘The main squares of your towns, wherever you are.’

8/12 We cannot wait any longer. Wherever you are, in Russia, Belarus or on the other side of the planet, go to the main square of your city every weekday and at 2 pm on weekends and holidays.

Mr Navalny was jailed last year after he returned to Russia from Germany following his recovery from what Western laboratory tests established was an attempt to poison him with a nerve agent in Siberia.

Russia denied carrying out such an attack.

Since then, authorities have clamped down even more tightly on his movement, and key figures have fled into exile after being designated by the authorities as ‘foreign agents’.

Russia-Ukraine war: Everything you need to know

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has escalated, with a 40-mile long Russian convoy closing in on Kyiv, and accusations of the illegal use of vacuum bombs and cluster munitions.

Amid the violence, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky gave an impassioned speech to the EU saying that ‘nobody will break us’.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin will ‘feel the consequences’ for his invasion of Ukraine.

However, Putin has shown no signs of de-escalating anytime soon.

• Prince Charles calls Ukraine invasion an ‘unconscionable’ attack on democracy
• Tearful Ukrainian woman tells Boris ‘children are protecting Nato from missiles’
• Ukraine claims Belarus has crossed border to join Putin’s invasion
• Food supplies running out in Kyiv with empty shelves and huge queues at shops
• Which countries are Russia’s allies?
• Dancing With The Stars pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy arrested in Ukraine
• How can I join the Ukraine foreign legion?

Follow Metro.co.uk’s live blog for rolling coverage of conflict as it happens.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Source: Read Full Article