Arrests in Moscow for the flowers in memory of the victims of the attack in Dnipro

Human rights defenders reported yesterday Tuesday (17/1) that at least four people were arrested in Moscow because went to leave flowers at the monument for Ukrainian poet Lesia Ukrainka in memory of at least 45 civilians who died when a Russian missile hit an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.

The arrests were made yesterday afternoon, according to the organization OVD-Info.

At the monument to Lesya Ukrainka, in a park in the center of the Russian capital, flowers have been left for the past 24 hours, while a framed black-and-white photograph depicting the apartment building that was destroyed in Dnipro has been placed on the site.

Some left flowers in the colors of the Ukrainian flag – blue and yellow – others took there stuffed toys. The victims of the attack included children. Passersby were seen crying at the makeshift memorial.

Public anti-war demonstrations in Russia have become extremely rare following a harsh crackdown by the authorities. Few protests have been reported recently against the Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin nearly 11 months ago on February 24, 2022.

Zelensky: Children and citizens are the enemies of Russia

The president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in his nightly speech, spoke about the attack in Dnipro. “The rescue operation has been completed. A total of 79 people were injured by the missile strike. 45 Ukrainians lost their lives. Among them were six children. One of them was only 11 months old.”he said and continued: “Children and citizens are Russia’s enemies. Of course, this is because Russia has turned into an enemy of all humanity.”.

In the meantime, the Ukrainian leader announced that the Netherlands will send a Patriot missile system to his country, while there were discussions about further defense reinforcement from Germany as well. Zelenskiy claimed that his government is also making efforts at the Davos Economic Forum in order to obtain new military aid from more countries so that the Ukrainian army can deal more effectively with the Russian invaders.