Nearly 100 people arrested in Russia for singing about Ukraine

About a hundred people have been arrested in Russia on suspicion of singing about Ukraine.

On August 22, security forces raided the Day x Night festival in a forest near the city of Vyborg in the Leningrad Region. According to local media, Meduza reported that about 100 people were detained at the event.

According to reports, songs supporting Ukraine and calling for a change of power in Russia were performed at the festival. It is also alleged that posters with Ukrainian symbols and drugs were found among the participants, who were called "left-wing radicals."

Videos circulating on the Internet show security forces searching people in the forest, making them lie face down. A source from RIA Novosti said that the participants flew quadcopters in the area of the border with Finland. The issue of instituting a criminal case is currently being considered.

However, one of the musicians who performed at the festival gave a different account of the incident to Mediazona. According to him, there were no flags or Ukrainian symbols at the event. Security officers kicked people and used stun guns in the first minutes of the raid.

The musician said that most of those detained were released after their documents were checked. According to him, only one drug dealer was actually detained. The St. Petersburg police and the festival organizers have not yet officially commented on the raid.