President Putin Announces Mobilization Protests, 1,300 People Detained By Russian Security Forces

JAKARTA - Security forces detained more than 1,300 people in Russia on Wednesday in a protest condemning the mobilization, a rights group said.

The protests came hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia's first military deployment since World War Two.

The independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info said, according to information gathered from 38 Russian cities, more than 1,311 people had been detained late into the night.

It said the figures included at least 502 people in Moscow and another 524 in St Petersburg, Russia's second most populous city.

Please note, demonstrations without permission are illegal under Russia's anti-protest laws.

In a statement quoted by Russian news agencies, Russian Interior Ministry official Irina Volk said officials had cut back on efforts to stage what she called a small protest.

"In some areas, there have been attempts to carry out illegal acts involving a small number of participants," Volk was quoted as saying.

"This is all stopped. And people who violate the law are detained and taken to the police station for investigation and establishing their responsibilities," he stressed.

As previously reported, flights from Russia sold out, ticket prices skyrocketed, after President Vladimir Putin announced mobilization for the first time since World War II.

President Putin's announcement of the mobilization on television raised fears that some men of fighting age would not be allowed to leave the country.