It’s the shocking moment when an angry man throws a burning Molotov cocktail at the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow.
The video shows an unidentified man gesturing angrily towards the red walls of the Kremlin and looking up at a piece of burning brickwork.
The footage, taken by a passing motorist, allegedly shows the moment immediately after the man threw a firebomb into the building.
He looks furious as he yells and curses at the walls of the Kremlin, part of which is on fire where a Molotov cocktail appears to have landed.
According to the independent human rights organization OVD-Info, this came after more than 15,000 people were detained for demonstrating against Russia’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine.
This is the shocking moment when an angry man throws a burning Molotov cocktail at the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow.
In the video, the unidentified man is seen gesturing angrily towards the red walls of the Kremlin, looking at the burning section of the brickwork.
Despite the constant threat of arrest in Russia, thousands of Russians across the country protested Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Last week, 467 people were detained in Moscow for anti-invasion protests as Moscow cracks down on anti-war demonstrations.
An AFP journalist who attended a protest in Moscow on Sunday witnessed at least a dozen arrests.
They added that the police took everyone away without press releases.
The video shows officers using batons and stun guns in a brutal attempt to quell any opposition to the invasion of Ukraine.
Police officers in the center of Moscow were seen mistreating many people who took part in protests against Russia’s military actions on Manezhnaya Square.
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine on Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow on March 13.
Demonstrations are taking place in many places across Russia to protest Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, on March 14, Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova challenged Putin’s crackdown on free speech and denounced his war with Ukraine on live television.
Putin has heavily armed state channels to refer to a “special military operation” instead of “war” or “invasion”, denies mass casualties and seeks to portray Ukraine as an aggressor with 15 years in prison for anyone who does not comply. to him.
But Ovsyannikova decided to break the law by storming the set of the state-run Channel One brandishing an anti-war sign.
Dear channel employee, the mother of two was holding a banner that read “Stop the war.” Don’t believe the propaganda. They lie to you.”
She then released a pre-recorded video message calling on ordinary Russians to protest and “stop the madness.”
Ms Ovsyannikova’s exceptional act of defiance against Putin quickly went viral, drawing praise from world leaders and prompting calls for her nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize.
But as soon as she was arrested, there were fears that she would disappear, as many critics of the Kremlin do.
Marina Ovsyannikova, editor of state-run Channel One, who protested Russia’s military actions in Ukraine during the channel’s late Monday evening newscast, leaves the Ostankino District Court after being fined 30,000 rubles.
Her lawyer said he could not contact the journalist or locate her at the notorious police station where she is said to be held, raising fears for her safety.
Then last week Ms Ovsyannikova made a sudden appearance at Moscow’s Ostankinsky District Court, where the judge ordered her to pay a £210 (30,000 rubles) fine and released her.
She could face a maximum sentence of 10 days in jail for calling for illegal protests.
However, the accusation was based only on the video and not on her breaking the news broadcast.
Therefore, there are fears that her trials are far from over, as Kremlin friends last week called for her to be sent to prison for several years.
With the invasion of Ukraine, the crackdown on dissent was extended to the media and social media — pretty much everything that silenced most independent news sites.
On Monday, a Moscow court banned Facebook and Instagram for extremist activities in a case against their parent company Meta.
The Tverskoy District Court granted the prosecutor’s request to ban Meta Platforms Inc. and the banning of Facebook and Instagram for what they called “extremist activities.”
Russian prosecutors have accused social media platforms of ignoring government demands to remove what they called fake news about Russian military action in Ukraine and calls for anti-war protests in Russia.
Police officers detain a man during a protest against Russia’s military actions in Ukraine on Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow on March 13.
The court decision prohibits Meta from opening offices and doing business in Russia. Meta declined to comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
The prosecutor’s office did not demand to ban the widely popular Russian messaging service WhatsApp, owned by Meta. The authorities also stressed that they do not intend to punish individual Russians who use Facebook or Instagram.
Instagram and Facebook have already been blocked in Russia after Roskomnadzor said they were being used to call for violence against Russian soldiers.
In addition to blocking Facebook and Instagram, Russian authorities have also closed access to foreign media websites, including the BBC, the US government-funded Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, and the Latvian website Meduza.
Continuing its work, Roskomnadzor on Monday blocked the website of the European news network Euronews. The regulator also stopped broadcasting Euronews.
The court’s verdict comes amid a multifaceted effort by Russian authorities to control reports of Russian military activity in Ukraine, which the Kremlin describes as a “special military operation” aimed at rooting out alleged “neo-Nazi nationalists.”
The new law, rushed through on March 4 by the Kremlin-controlled parliament, a week after Russia launched its attack on Ukraine, provides for up to 15 years in prison for publishing “fake” information about the military that differs from the official story.