At Putin campaign HQ, soldier's wife says bring him home

Maria Andreeva, whose husband was mobilised in October 2022 to join the Russian armed forces involved in a military campaign in Ukraine, and other wives of mobilised servicemen walk to lay flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier by the Kremlin wall in Moscow, Russia, January 20, 2024. Andreeva is an active member of Russian women's movement "Way Home", demanding the return from the frontline of their husbands, sons and brothers. REUTERS/Stringer

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in a country where open criticism of the war is banned.

"Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin has issued a decree that my husband has to be there (in Ukraine). I'm interested to know when he will issue a decree that my husband has to be home," Maria Andreyeva said as campaign workers looked on.