Russian city councillor ‘sparks outrage by wearing Ukrainian colours to meeting’

More than three million Ukrainians have now fled Vladimir Putin’s war

Pirogova Helga, a city councillor in the Russian city of Novosibirsk, wears the blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag (Pirogova Helga/Twitter)

A city councillor in Russia sparked outrage among colleagues after reportedly turning up to a meeting wearing a wreath of Ukraine’s national flower on her head.

Pirogova Helga, a member ofNovosibirsk City Council, in Siberia, posted a picture of herself online wearing a blue top and a crown of yellow sunflowers - the colours of the Ukrainian flag.

Ms Helga claimed her colleagues shouted at her for the outfit and demanded that she leave the session.

The provocative fashion statement comes almost three weeks after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of civilians are feared to have been killed so far in indiscriminate Russian attacks on cities across the country, which have caused more than three million Ukrainians to flee.

Since the war erupted, anti-war protesters have descended on streets in Russia to demonstrate against the war.

On Tuesday, a tally kept by OVD-Info, an independent protest-monitoring group, estimated almost 15,000 people had been arrested in Russia since the invasion began.

Police detain a demonstrator during a protest in St Petersburg against war in Ukraine (AP)

To deter the anti-war movement, the Kremlin introduced a law earlier this month which criminalises anyone who spreads what it deems “fake news” about the invasion. The legislation carries a maximum prison sentence of 15 years.

Despite this threat, some Russians continue to defy the authorities. This includes a journalist who interrupted a live news broadcast on Monday evening with a message for Russian viewers.

Marina Ovsyannikova, an editor at the state-run television Channel One, shouted “Stop the war” and held up a sign which said “They’re lying to you here”.

In a pre-recorded video, she expressed her guilt at working for an outlet which spread pro-Putin propaganda.

“We are just silently watching this anti-human regime. And now the whole world has turned away from us and the next 10 generations won’t be able to clean themselves from the shame of this fratricidal war,” she said.

She was later fined 30,000 roubles after being found guilty by a court in Moscow of flouting the protest legislation.

Russia’s opposition figure Alexei Navalny also urged his fellow citizens to wake up to the truth of what is happening in Ukraine.

“I am urging everyone to take to the streets and fight for peace,” he said. “If, to prevent war, we need to fill up the jails and police vans, we will fill up the jails and police vans.”

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