Russia-Ukraine war: Moscow police arrest children for placing flowers at Ukrainian embassy

After attempting to place some flowers at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow, a group of children in Russia were reportedly escorted into a police van and later detained by authorities. According to The Guardian, two women, as well as five children, were arrested by Moscow police as they attempted to leave the flowers. The photographs which were taken during their detention displayed that the children were clutching a placard that read "No to War".

The purported arrest of the youngsters was initially reported on Tuesday in a Facebook post by Alexandra Arkhipova, an educator at Russian State University, according to Newsweek. The youngsters, named Liza (11), Gosha (11), Matvey (9), David (7), and Sofya (7), were placed in a police vehicle with their mothers Ekaterina Zavizion and Olga Alter before being brought to a police station. As per Alexandra Arkhipova's post, they were freed hours later. 

Youngsters arrested for laying flowers at the Ukrainian Embassy in Moscow

The Facebook post headlined "Children, War, and a Police Van," has been written in both Russian and English and relates the purported occurrences involving the incident. 

In addition to this, video footage which later surfaced on the internet showed that a mother of one young girl was trying to calm her crying daughter inside a jail, further revealing why the Moscow police have detained them. Further, another placard held by one of the youngsters portrayed a Russian flag joined by a 'plus sign' and a Ukrainian flag, equaling a heart, the Guardian reported.  

Furthermore, children under the age of 14 cannot be kept under arrest for over three hours, according to the OVD-Info website, which tracks demonstrations and arrests across Russia.  

Dmytro Kuleba criticised the incident

This incident has also been criticised by Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who took Twitter and wrote, “Putin is at war with children. In Ukraine, where his missiles hit kindergartens and orphanages, and also in Russia.” 

Meanwhile, thousands of Russians have flocked to the streets to demonstrate against Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine, ignoring an official warning that anybody advocating for or participating in a protest would face prosecution and jail time. According to iNews, so far, over 7,000 individuals have been detained in 50 locations around the country. 

(Image: Twitter/ @DmytroKuleba)