A group of relatives of mobilized Russian soldiers on Monday released a message that called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to bring their loved ones home while also calling on the leader to fight in the war himself.
The group—which is mostly made up of wives and mothers of troops—has garnered international headlines in recent weeks for messages and videos posted on Telegram channel Way Home.
Earlier this month, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defense reported that the Kremlin has likely attempted to silence users of Way Home by offering them payoffs. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank has also written about the Kremlin's attempts to counter messages from users of the Telegram account by using fake profiles to smear them online.
Monday's message to Putin posted on Way Home contained some of the group's harshest language yet.
"We Russians have no hope left under your leadership ... sit at the negotiating table," the message read, according to a translation by The Moscow Times. "Let us live in peace! Or go to the front line yourself and die there."
"Will you not stop until you kill all the young people?" the post added. "Will you be having a good time ringing in the New Year with your close ones and a glass of champagne? Well, not our boys."
Newsweek reached out to the Kremlin via email on Monday night for comment.
The ISW noted that public condemnations of the war from Way Home members likely concern the Kremlin because such protests could negatively impact Putin's 2024 presidential campaign.
"Putin's presidential campaign will reportedly not focus on the war in Ukraine, and the Kremlin likely considers the relatives of mobilized personnel to be a social group that may pose one of the greatest threats to his campaign," the ISW wrote.
A video also accompanied Monday's message posted on Way Home. The Moscow Times described the video as containing a Russian solider who appeared to be stationed in Ukraine. The soldier reportedly criticized Putin for not allowing troops to be granted leave time.
"I watched 'Direct Line' with our president ... and there's no hope, no signs that our mobilized boys will return home in the foreseeable future," the soldier reportedly said, referencing the "Direct Line" question-and-answer program Putin held on December 14 with journalists and Russian citizens.
During the televised "Direct Line" Q&A session, Putin fielded several uncomfortable questions, including ones about the war in Ukraine.
"The peace will come when we reach our goals," Putin said during the program. "And coming back to the goals, they remain unchanged. I will remind you it means denazification, demilitarization of Ukraine and its neutral status."
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Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
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