A group of Russian politicians have demanded Vladimir Putin's resignation as his invasion of Ukraine continues to stall.
The group of 18 municipal deputies are the third to publicly call for the President to quit after similar announcements last Wednesday and Thursday.
Ukraine's army is continuing to push Russian forces back, liberating territory held by Putin’s troops since the start of the invasion.
A regional governor in Kharkiv claimed that in some areas, invading troops have been forced all the way back to the Russian border.
The municipal deputies, who came from districts of Moscow, St Petersburg and Kolpino, issued a statement on Twitter calling for Putin to go.
“We believe that the actions of President Vladimir Putin inflict harm on the future of Russia and its citizens,” they said in a statement published on the Twitter of Xenia Torstrem, a municipal deputy of St Petersburg, the Daily Mail reports.
“We demand the resignation of Vladimir Putin from the office of President of the Russian Federation.”
The 18 councillors had all signed the statement, which urged other municipal deputies to join their public demand.
Russian forces have been on the end of a remarkable counter-attack in Ukraine over the last week, with sources reporting that some units have fled without a fight, leaving ammunition and tanks behind.
A councillor in St Petersburg called for Putin to be impeached on grounds of treason over the weekend.
Kunin Vasily Evgenievich said Putin had left Russia in the international wilderness and crippled the country's economy.
“A totalitarian police regime has been established in the country, all independent media and political repression intensified,” he was quoted as saying in the Daily Mail.
“All of the above violates the rights of citizens of the Russian Federation to security, to economic development, well-being, freedom of expression. Putin's course has thrown our country back decades.”
The Kremlin is likely to clamp down on the dissenting voices, having summoned a group of Smolninskoye councillors for police interrogations last week after they called for Putin to face treason charges.
If convicted of criticising Russian armed forces or authorities they could face fines or even time in jail.
The group facing investigation had highlighted that the war was costing the lives of Russian soldiers and causing untold economic and political damage.
