Russian man lights himself on fire to protest Putin’s draft

By Edward Era Barbacena

Shocking video footage shows a Russian man lighting himself on fire Monday to avoid being conscripted into the war with Ukraine.

Less than a week after Putin announced the “partial mobilization” of up 300,000 reservists, Russian news outlet YA62 shared footage of a man in the southeastern city of Ryazan dousing himself in flames.

“At the Ryazan bus station, a man set himself on fire,” the post read.

“He shouted that he did not want to participate in a special operation in Ukraine.”

After the flames fizzled out, the man can be seen being escorted to an ambulance by police.

Although the protestor was able to walk to the ambulance crew, there are conflicting reports about his condition. One eyewitness told YA62 that he escaped with minor injuries, while the magazine Novaya Gazeta wrote that he had burns on over 90 percent of his body.

The attempted self-immolation is just the latest in a series of protests against the draft, as thousands of Russians attempt to flee to bordering countries.

Within hours of the Ryazan incident, a draft officer in the Irkutsk region of Siberia was shot by a would-be conscript.

The shooter, who identified himself on video as 25-year-old Ruslan Zinin, reportedly told terrified bystanders that “nobody is going to go anywhere. We’re all going home now.”

The brutal invasion of Ukraine has now entered its 8th month — despite Russian state correspondent Alexander Sladkov admitting on television that the country’s army had already suffered “huge” losses.

“‘We’re winning on points. But we’d like a knockout,’” he said.