An independent group of soldiers relatives lobbying the Kremlin for the return of mobilized troops from Ukraine has announced that it will close after being slapped with a foreign agent label just months earlier.We cannot act with this stigma, Olga Tsukanova, who heads the Council of Wives and Mothers, said Friday in a video address posted on YouTube.Weve made the decision not to work further, she added.The Council of Wives and Mothers, which appeared after President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilization in September 2022, claims to represent draftees relatives from 89 Russian cities.It was involved in several high-profile scandals, which includedaccusing both Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of cowardice for avoiding them at different events last fall.Independent media outlets link the groups origins to a fringe political movement that seeks a return to Soviet rule and has protested Covid-19 restrictions during the pandemic.In May, Russias Justice Ministrylabeled the Council of Wives and Mothers a foreign agent, claiming the group formed a negative opinion of Russias invasion of Ukraine and distributed other foreign agents materials.Russias popular social network VKontaktebanned the group in November after it accused the Kremlin of excluding its members from Putins carefully staged meeting with the mothers of soldiers.In Fridays announcement, Tsukanova said she would continue to act and stand up for justice.Tsukanova wasdetained by Russian authorities late last year andaccused of discrediting the countrys armed forces.
In March, she wasfined after being found guilty of of abusing media freedoms.