PM Jacinda Ardern responds to claims made by our Russian embassy that alleged war crimes in Ukraine are a hoax. Video / Mark Mitchell
An image of an anti-war protester from inside Moscow has been circulated across the world as Russia continues to face fury over the crimes against Ukrainian civilians.
The pictures of the anonymous protest were posted by independent Russian publication, Kholod, on Tuesday, showing a lone individual with a black hoodcovering their face with their hands tied behind their back. It is titled: "Bucha-Moscow".
The person is lying on the ground in front of various landmarks around the Russian capital, including a public park in Moscow that borders the Kremlin, Alexander Garden, and a pedestrian bridge at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in downtown Moscow, a few hundred metres away from the Kremlin.
'Bucha-Moscow'. Photo / Twitter, @holodmedia
The unknown activist's protest is in response to the "war crimes" of Russian military forces in Ukraine.
The editor of Kholod overnight warned in a Telegram seen by news.com.au "we received the first threat of blocking due to noncompliance with military censorship.
"We decided from the very beginning that using euphemisms like 'special operation' when Russian troops are killing people in a neighbouring country is impossible for us and insulting for our readers," a letter from the editor-in-chief of Kholod Taisiya Bekbulatova said.
"As long as we can work, we will continue to do so, blocked or not."
Meanwhile independent publication The Moscow Times posted images of activists coming up with "different ways of catching people's attention".
"Despite the ban on virtually any form of protest – even standing alone on the street with a blank piece of paper will get you detained – Russians are protesting anyway," it explained.
Activists "slip new prices onto the shelves below goods in grocery shops. Shoppers notice because the prices are wildly out of order. Above the price, the activists have written texts that explain the meaning of those numbers, which might be the number of people killed in a bombing raid in a Ukrainian city or the true rate of inflation due to the war."
Russia has denied killing civilians in Bucha, which it controlled since the first days of its invasion on February 24.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said overnight Moscow would carefully "monitor" food exports to "hostile" nations as a furious West slaps more sanctions on Russia in response.
"Against the backdrop of global food shortages, this year we will have to be prudent with supplies abroad and carefully monitor such exports to countries that are clearly hostile towards us," Putin said.
Evidence of civilian killings around Kyiv emerged as the Russian army pulled back from the capital in the face of ferocious resistance from Ukrainian forces.
Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the town of Bucha. Photo / Getty Images
Dozens of bodies were seen strewn across streets in the town of Bucha last week. Some had their hands tied behind their back while others were buried in a mass grave.
Hundreds more bodies have emerged in the days since.
Moscow says the images are fake and the dead bodies were staged after its forces withdrew from the area, but satellite images from the US have since debunked that theory, showing mass graves in Bucha appearing at least three weeks ago.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said overnight the killings of Ukrainians in Bucha were part of a deliberate tactic "to kill, to torture, to rape."
"As this Russian tide is receding from parts of Ukraine, the world is seeing the death and destruction left in its wake," he told reporters as he flew to Brussels.
"What we've seen in Bucha is not the random act of a rogue unit. It's a deliberate campaign to kill, to torture, to rape, to commit atrocities. The reports are more than credible. The evidence is there for the world to see."
A satellite image released by Maxar Technologies on April 4 shows a view of Yablonska Street in Bucha, Ukraine, on March 18. Photo / Supplied
Thousands of people have reportedly been detained in protests across numerous cities in Russia, according to the Russian Interior Ministry and an independent protest monitor OVD-Info. Following the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia amended a law restricting freedom of reporting on the war, with those found guilty facing 15 years in prison.
There are at least 2590 detainees in Moscow alone but as of Tuesday night, at least 5539 people were detained for protests in 77 cities.
"Each police department may have more detainees than published lists," the OVD warns.
"We publish only the names of those people about whom we know for certain and whose names we can publish."
An elderly woman cries as she walks the street next to a destroyed building on April 4 in Bucha. Photo / Getty Images
Last month, a Russian journalist who bravely stormed on to a live TV news broadcast in protest against the war in Ukraine was been found after going missing for nearly 24 hours.
Marina Ovsyannikova, a mother of two who is an editor at state-controlled flagship station Channel 1, disappeared after she ran on to the set during a live bulletin holding a sign in support of Ukraine that read "no war" and shouted slogans against Russia.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's leadership was responsible for the civilian killings, vowing to investigate and prosecute all Russian "crimes" in Ukraine.
Addressing the mothers of Russian soldiers, the Ukrainian leader said: "Why did they do this? Why did they kill them? What did the man who was riding a bike do? Why did they torture to death ordinary peaceful people in an ordinary peaceful town? What did the town of Bucha do to your Russia?"
