Anti-war protesters are beaten by police in Russia

Anti-war protesters in St Petersburg, Russia, were brutally beaten by police on Sunday, videos posted on social media show. THE CNN geolocated and verified the authenticity of the videos.

In the footage, protesters are seen walking along Nevsky Avenue in downtown St. Outside Kazan Cathedral, a clash between protesters and police was captured in two of the videos.

One of the videos, which was posted on social media, shows a police officer trying to stop an individual on the street. As a protester approaches to try to get involved, another police officer appears and throws him to the ground.

Another video, published by Russian news agency SOTA Vision, shows police trying to detain a woman who was lying on the ground.

In both images, more protesters approach and involve the police. Screams are heard. Video published by SOTA Vision shows police punching the man lying on the ground.

In the video posted on social media, police officers are holding the woman to the ground, while also holding back the protesters. Then, a police car appears.

“No to war”, the protesters shout repeatedly.

THE CNN contacted St Petersburg police to inquire about the nature of the arrests, but did not receive an immediate response.

On Sunday, Russia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs told Russian state news agency TASS that about 1,500 people “participated in an uncoordinated demonstration” in St. Petersburg on Sunday and about 750 were detained.

At least 4,640 people were detained in Russia on Sunday over anti-war protests across the country, according to OVD-Info, an independent human rights monitoring group that tracks arrests. More than 13,000 people have been arrested in Russia for anti-war demonstrations since the invasion, the group calculated.