Mobilized Soldiers' Relatives Call for Russian Officials' Sons to Replace Their Loved Ones

Relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers campaigning for their loved ones' return from Ukraine have called on the authorities to replace these men with the sons of Russian officials and media personalities.

“We demand to replace our men with other quite specific men: the children and husbands of those who tell our citizens from the screens that war is good,” the Put Domoi (“Way Home”) movement, which has organized women-led protests across the country calling for a full demobilization, wrote on its Telegram channel Friday.

“We can make a list long enough to replace every mobilized person,” the statement said.

The list includes the sons of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, Kremlin-loyal TV host Vladimir Solovyev and former President Dmitry Medvedev.

“Something tells us that such a rotation will quickly put an end to all hostilities,” Put Domoi said.

Earlier this month, a group of women staged a protest outside the Defense Ministry building in Moscow, demanding the return of those mobilized and a meeting with new Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.

Russia mobilized 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine in September and October 2022 and many have not returned home since.

At least 6,456 of these mobilized men have been killed on the front lines, according to an independent tally conducted by the BBC’s Russian service and the independent Mediazona news website. The real number is believed to be higher.

Russia last month labeled Put Domoi and one of the movement’s leaders, Maria Andreyeva, as “foreign agents.”

The women had previously been allowed to stage weekly protests in central Moscow, with authorities seemingly unwilling to antagonize relatives of men fighting in Ukraine.

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