In a video message, imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has said that he is completely against the war that President Vladimir Putin has started in Ukraine.
According to Navalny, it is being conducted “to cover up how the Russians are being robbed and to divert attention from the country’s domestic problems, especially the economic downturn”.
Navalny, 45, is seen as President Putin’s main political opponent. He has used social media to denounce abuse of power and corruption for years.
He has gained a large following in the cities. However, he is incarcerated on controversial convictions related to allegations from ten years ago. He was given suspended prison sentences at the time, but he has been incarcerated again since the beginning of 2021.
A human rights activist in Moscow, Marina Litvinovich, has called for a demonstration against the war on Thursday.