Up to 1,000 Russians have descended on central Moscow calling on Vladimir Putin to halt his invasion of Ukraine.
Police clashed with demonstrators as hundreds of people flooded the historic Pushkin Square, one of the busiest areas in Moscow.
Locals said police appeared to be ‘arresting everyone’ on sight, with armour-clad officers dragging away people suspected of heading to the protest.
Footage appears to show one young male tackled by officers moments after holding up a sign which said: ‘F**k war’.
A journalist with the Daily Telegraph reported that protesters were being dragged away ‘indiscriminately’ and said she was briefly detained despite repeatedly telling officers she was a journalist.
Riot police were seen marching through the city to hunt down pockets of dissenters, with clashes breaking out in other cities inculding St Petersburg.
Marina Litvinovich, a prominent opposition figure who called for protest, was arrested as soon as she left her house, according to local independent media.
Despite the threats politicians in Russia face for opposing Putin, more than 150 local government chiefs signed an open letter condemning his ‘special operation’ as an ‘unprecented atrocity’.
They urged ordinary Russians ‘not to participate in the aggression’ and speak out as ‘only massive popular condemnation can stop the war’.
The letter stated: ‘This is an unprecedented atrocity for which there is no and cannot be justification.
‘The decision to attack was made personally by Russian President Vladimir Putin. We are convinced that the citizens of Russia did not give him such a mandate.’
‘Thousands of people will die, be injured and maimed, cities dear to many Russians will be destroyed.’
‘We urge you not to participate in the aggression and not to approve of it. Please don’t be silent: only massive popular condemnation can stop the war.’
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