"Bring men home"

Distraught soldiers’ wives rage in the middle of Moscow

On their knees, the women are pleading with the Russian Ministry of Defense to finally hear their voices.

(Bild: Ostorozhno novosti)

Desperate Russian soldiers' wives with children and mothers of servicemen gathered in front of the Ministry of Defense in Moscow on Monday and insisted on talks with the new minister Andrei Beloussov. Prisoner transporters quickly rushed to the scene - but the women refused to be driven away and instead got down on their knees.

"Please, take my dad home", "The mobilized must go home", "Andrei Beloussov, talk to us", could be read on posters and banners held by the kneeling women. Immediately after the women had gathered in front of the Ministry of Defense, a prisoner transport van with police officers stopped in front of them, reports "Sotavision".

"Come on, let's go! Why don't you drag soldiers' wives into prisoner transporters?" a brave voice addressed the officers.

Shortages and other problems at the front
A short time later, a man in an officer's uniform appeared. According to the Kremlin-critical portal "Ostoroshno, Novosti", the women complained to the representative of the Ministry of Defense about the treatment of the soldiers. They also criticized that there were problems with the missions and that it was not right that the men had to stay in the war zone indefinitely. The representative simply replied that an order was needed to bring the men back home - but there was none.

As if that were not enough, the military accused the women of having taken to the streets with full intent and for the sole purpose of being filmed by opposition Telegram channels. This was done purely for the sake of sensationalism. "After something like this, you no longer need to call yourselves citizens of Russia," the man scolded. And then - quite unexpectedly, as is often the case in Russia - he began to make a note of the problems the women were complaining about. He even noted which unit the men were serving in.

Regular soldiers must serve in Ukraine until the end of the war
Those Russians who were drafted into the war as part of mobilization are practically unable to return home until the end of hostilities. The Kremlin emphasizes that the legislation does not provide for a change in the armed forces. Their deployment only ends when the "special military operation" is over. Many members do not want to accept these conditions and have now formed corresponding movements. Numerous members have already been victims of reprisals.