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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
World
Laura Sharman

Putin backlash begins as furious revellers chant ‘f*** the war!’ at Russian concert

Backlash against the war in Ukraine has begun in Russia where thousands of people screamed condemnation at a concert.

Revellers were heard chanting "f**k the war" repeatedly in footage from the concert in St Petersburg.

It shows defiance against Vladimir Putin's 'special military operation' which suggests the Russian President's TV propaganda machine is failing.

Kremlin authorities have tried to manage strict censorship of information about the war against Ukraine.

But anti-war protests and demonstrations have still erupted across the authoritarian nation, reports the Express Online.

The war has been covered in extensive detail via Russian state-controlled TV since the invasion of Ukraine in February.

It has been used as a propaganda machine with its content strictly pro-war, with Russian authorities trying to justify military intervention.

Thousands of music lovers were heard chanting (Sobol Lubov)
The concert was held in St Petersburg (Sobol Lubov)

The nation's media claims suggest that Putin's troops have invaded in a bid to liberate the people who are trapped under a corrupt, facist rule.

Russian military journalist Mikhail Khodaryonok recently made several controversial statements surrounding the Kremlin's military performance in Ukraine on the television network Russia One.

"The situation for us will clearly get worse," he said.

"The biggest problem with our military and political situation is that we are in total geopolitical isolation and the whole world is against us, even if we don’t want to admit it."

Russian people were recorded shouting criticisms of the war in Ukraine at the gig (Sobol Lubov)

Mr Khodaryonok alleged that Russia had failed to form any substantial international alliances in the war and warned that the performance of Russian troops was in decline.

The Russian military reporter appeared again on state-controlled television and rebuked many of his earlier claims of a weakened Russian front.

"I think our armed forces have been given this objective and that in the near future it will be accomplished," he said.

Russian authorities have cracked down on anti-war demonstrations as a significant number of protesters were detained in mass arrests following events across February and March.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (AFP via Getty Images)

Alongside the mass arrests, there were reports of police brutality against anti-war demonstrators as authorities rushed to silence objections to the Russian invasion.

Due to censorship of Russian reporting, it is essentially impossible to ascertain a true sense of the Russian nation’s support or opposition to events within Ukraine.

However, it is estimated that thousands of Russian citizens have fled the country since the outbreak of the war and it is largely suggested this was due to their political opposition to, and fear of, Putin’s regime.

Britain's Secret Intelligence Service's former boss said that Putin would soon be gone with plans underway to send him to a sanatorium.

Sir Richard Dearlove (Getty Images)
Pro-Russian troops in the southern port city of Mariupol (REUTERS)

Sir Richard Dearlove told the One Decision podcast that expert opinion may be beginning to shift in Russia which could indicate a change of thinking.

"I don't think public opinion is really shifting yet in Russia yet but I think expert opinion may be beginning to shift," he said.

He also speculated that we could be reaching "the end of this regime in Russia" but "that doesn't mean it is going to disappear."

Sir Richard added: "What I'm saying over the next year, 18 months maybe something, it is going to break apart."

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