Kremlin silences wives of soldiers deployed to the front, but some still raise their voices in protest

"On September 21, 2022, Vladimir Putin decreed a massive mobilization to continue the offensive against Ukraine that had been launched a few months earlier. While men boarded buses and trains, women took to the streets. The threat of destabilization loomed over the Kremlin, but it ultimately calmed the storm with a campaign of pressure. Three years later, fear reigns among women, although some try to keep the protest alive."

"The Ministry of Defense declared that it had mobilized 300,000 men in September 2022. It was also the last time it provided a death toll in the ranks of the Russian military, reporting 5,937 fatalities among its professional forces. An analysis of data by three media outlets Mediazona, Meduza, and the BBC suggests that around 200,000 Russians have lost their lives so far in the war."

Women have been a powerful social force in Russia, pressing for the return of soldiers during the First Chechen War and rebuilding the country after World War II. On September 21, 2022, a large mobilization accelerated the offensive against Ukraine and prompted women to protest as men boarded buses and trains. Those protests threatened Kremlin stability but were quelled through a campaign of pressure, warnings, and arrests. The movement received a foreign agent designation, public gatherings dwindled, and many activists now act alone, leaving flowers at monuments. The Defense Ministry reported mobilizing 300,000 men and last gave a death toll of 5,937; independent analyses estimate roughly 200,000 Russian deaths in the war so far.

Read at english.elpais.com