‘It’s a disgrace not to go to war’: muted Russian protest against Ukraine conflict

Families of dead Russian soldiers appear even more supportive of military operation

Fifteen minutes before midnight, a young Russian conscript named Danila, who had been sent to fight in Ukraine, picked up his phone to write a message to his family and friends back home in a small town in the Samara region. It was 31 December.

“We congratulated each other, wished each other the best for the New Year, and then he was gone,” said a close friend who wrote with him that night.