Russians protest against Putin's involvement in Ukraine

Thousands of protesters held an anti-war rally in Moscow yesterday, waving Ukrainian flags in protest at Russia's "aggressive foreign policy". Waving Ukrainian and flags, people chanted "Stop lying" and "No to war".

The numbers are disputed, with organisers saying there were 50,000 attendees, the AP news agency estimating 20,000 and Russian police claiming there were only 5,000. There were smaller rallies in St Petersburg and other cities, concurrently, says the BBC.

Demonstrators walked from Pushkin Square to Sakharov Avenue in a "sea of Russsian and Ukrainian flags" says the English-language Moscow Times. Banners read 'Hands off Ukraine' and 'Freedom to the 6 May prisoners' – the latter a reference to protesters jailed for "inciting riots" after an anti-Putin rally in 2012.

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The Guardian says the demonstrators represented a variety of political parties and views but were united against what they say is a Kremlin policy to fuel the conflict in Ukraine, with arms and fighters sent across the border.

Police increased security in the capital but according to the BBC "there were only minor scuffles reported between rival demonstrators".

Speaking to Al Jazeera about the demonstration, prominent Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov said, "Putin means war, he is the leader of the party of war… If there are a lot of us today, he will back down, because he is afraid of his own citizens, and only the Russian people can stop Putin."

Anti-war protests also took place in Paris and New York, while supporters of the pro-Russian rebels held their own counter-demonstration in Moscow, albeit with just dozens of participants.

The rally is the first major anti-war demonstration in Russia since fighting began in Ukraine. More than 3,000 people have died in fighting in the east of Ukraine since Russia annexed Crimea in March this year.

Ukraine says Russia is arming rebels there – and some have claimed Russian troops are masquerading as rebels. A truce was agreed at a summit in Minsk, Belarus on 5 September, but it has been repeatedly violated.