Anti-war protests in Russia took the form of commemorating Ukrainian victims: Russians began laying flowers at monuments to Ukrainian writers in dozens of Russian cities, reports The Moscow Times.

According to the quoted source, it all started after last year’s missile attack on the city of Dnipro.

Flowers, stuffed toys and handwritten messages have appeared in at least 60 Russian cities, often at the base of monuments to Ukrainian poets Taras Shevchenko and Lesya Ukrainetsa or near monuments to victims of Soviet-era political repression.

“This is a protest against the war, not just mourning for those who died in the Dnipro,” said a woman who laid flowers at a memorial in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk.

“I could not remain silent,” she told The Moscow Times in an anonymous interview conducted with the help of Vesna, a youth opposition movement.

Images of a destroyed apartment building, civilian casualties and desperate rescue efforts after the January 14 attack in Dnipro served as a shocking reminder of the devastation caused by the war in Ukraine, and sparked anger and shame among some Russians.

The ongoing commemorations for the victims of the Dnipro terror attack are the first nationwide anti-war protests since demonstrations against “partial” mobilization in September.

Flower protests were born because “not all Russians lack sympathy for Ukrainians”

These demonstrations became “flower protests”.

Almost three weeks after the deaths of people in the Dnipro, Russians continue to lay flowers.

“I decided to lay flowers at the local memorial to show that not all Russians lack sympathy for Ukrainians,” said a resident of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous District in another anonymous interview with Vesna.

“I thought about the victims of the Dnipro attack and what it was like to be under the rubble.”

On Thursday, in the south of Russia in Krasnodar, local residents laid yellow roses with blue-yellow ribbons – the colors of the Ukrainian flag.

And in the city of Kazan on the Volga, local residents placed flowers, photos of a destroyed residential building in the Dnipro River, and a sign with the inscription “Kazan in mourning” at the monument to the victims of political repression.

In the North Caucasian city of Vladikavkaz, the monument consisted of a handful of red carnations and a children’s toy.

And in Pskov, in western Russia, people laid flowers and lit candles at the monument to the mother and children.

The attack on the Dnipro took place on Saturday afternoon when, according to Ukrainian officials, a Russian Kh-22 cruise missile designed for use against ships.

Rescuers worked for several days in the ruins of the building, trying to find survivors. At least 46 people, including six children, were killed and more than 80 were injured.

Many of those who took part in the “flower protests” told The Moscow Times that commemorating the Dnipro victims helped them feel part of the wider anti-war movement.

“This is not for the dead, but for the living,” said Zakhar, a boy who recently laid flowers at one of the memorials in St. Petersburg.