[10] In violation of the Russian Constitution and international human rights law,[11] Putin has made peaceful public protest without permission of the authorities illegal.

[12][13] This background information is necessary to understand the extreme intimidation caused by the large number of arrests and by the seemingly reasonable warning of the authorities to not take part in "unsanctioned" protests.

[37][38] On 24 February, human rights activist Lev Ponomaryov started a petition to protest the invasion, which gathered more than 1,5 million signatures by 3 March.

[39] A number of Russian entrepreneurs, businesspeople and billionaires, including Oleg Deripaska,[40][41] Mikhail Fridman,[40] Oleg Tinkov,[42] Mikhail Khodorkovsky,[43] Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut,[44] Vladimir Lisin,[41] Alexei Mordashov[41] and Andrei Melnichenko,[45] have spoken out against the invasion, and called on for the Russian military forces to be withdrawn from Ukraine.

On 3 March, Lukoil, the second-largest Russian energy company after Gazprom, called for a ceasefire and diplomatic means to solve the conflict.

[46] The invasion was condemned by television presenter Ksenia Sobchak, pop star Valery Meladze, writer Dmitry Glukhovsky, journalist and YouTuber Yury Dud, film director Roman Volobuev, rapper Noize MC, Dynamo Moscow striker Fyodor Smolov, actress Chulpan Khamatova, actor Danila Kozlovsky[47][48] and the television host Ivan Urgant.

[50] Dozens of other Russian artists, TV presenters and other celebrities spoke out on social networks against Russia's military actions in Ukraine.

"[54] He went on to announce a series of benefit concerts in other countries, entitled "Russians Against War", the proceeds from which would be donated to NGOs helping Ukrainian refugees.

He accused the Russian authorities of hypocrisy and lies with respect to war crimes that Russia has committed in firing rockets at the Ukrainian city of Odesa, its destruction of Mariupol and its atrocities in Bucha.

[60] Tennis players Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Yevgeny Kafelnikov and other Russian sportsmen also made statements against the war.

[61][62] Figure skater Evgenia Medvedeva spoke out on her Instagram account, writing "I hope this all ends as soon as possible, like a bad dream.

[65] These comments were frequently shown in videos published by the Ukrainian military, of captured Russian soldiers that were potentially made under duress.

[67][68] The founders of the "Immortal Regiment" commemoration movement, in which ordinary Russians carry photographs of veteran family members in marches around Russia held annually to mark WWII Victory Day on 9 May, called on the Putin "to cease fire", describing the use of force as "inhuman".

Larkina alleged that Russian conscripts had been pressured or forced into signing contracts to become soldiers, sent to Ukraine and family members have lost contact with them.

[69] Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine and called those who launched the war "bandits and thieves.

[80] On 23 March, Putin's longtime advisor and Russian climate envoy Anatoly Chubais resigned from his position and left Russia due to his opposition to the war.

Muratov, journalist Mikhail Zygar, director Vladimir Mirzoyev, and others signed a document stating that Ukraine was not a threat to Russia and calling for Russian citizens "to say no to this war.

[90] On 10 March, during a broadcast on Russia-1, the filmmaker and pundit Karen Shakhnazarov, who initially supported the invasion, called for an end to it, saying that the situation was at risk of becoming "an absolute humanitarian disaster", and that there is no realistic possibility for the Russian forces to seize Kyiv and other major Ukrainian cities.

[91] On 14 March, a live broadcast of Channel One Russia was interrupted by news editor Marina Ovsyannikova holding a poster stating "No War.

[95] Ever since 24 February, a number of employees, including Lilia Gildeeva, Zhanna Agalakova, Maria Baronova and several other RT reporters, resigned from state TV in protest of the invasion; some of them subsequently left the country.

[96] At the beginning of March, the community of Moscow State University issued a joint statement condemning the invasion and calling on withdraw the Russian troops from Ukraine.

[115] Similar photos were also published by the British tabloid Daily Star (which called Putin "bloody Vlad") and by the Italian newspaper La Ragione.

[199][200] Protests were also held in Amman, Bern, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Luxembourg City, Nicosia, Sydney, Tokyo, Ulaanbaatar, and Vienna.

[209] On 26 February, Ukrainians gathered at St. Nicholas Cathedral in Mapo District, Seoul, South Korea, praying for the peace of their motherland.

[210] In the next day, around 300 people, including Ukrainians living in South Korea and their supporters, protest against Russia's invasion near the Russian Embassy in Seoul.

[222]As well as the protests, there were also reported instances of anti-Russian sentiment and discrimination against the Russian diaspora and Russian-speaking immigrants from post-Soviet states as a result of the war.

[226] Several cities have changed names of streets, which influenced addresses of Russian Embassies: At the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November 2022, Polish climate activists Dominika Lasota and Wiktoria Jędroszkowiak, and Ukrainian activists Svitlana Romanko, Valeria Bondarieva and Viktoriya Ball protested during a session held by Russians, whose 150-person delegation included 33 fuel lobbyists.

[233] On 27 February, Taras Ostapchuk, a Ukrainian mechanic, appeared in Mallorcan court on charges of partially sinking the $7 million superyacht that he worked on.