Thousands gathered over the weekend to hold a vigil in memory of the innocent lives lost to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
As many as 17,000 mourners turned out on Saturday to Moscow's Poklonnaya Gora World War II memorial complex.
The figure stood at six times the number the organizers anticipated in filing their application to host the event, Interfax reported. Moscow police plan to fine the organizers for the violation.
The vigil strived to focus on lives lost, rather than political divisions. Participants expressed their support for the Ukrainian people and called for an international investigation into alleged war crimes committed in the country's tumultuous east.
News site RBC reported that participants turned out from at least six Russian cities to pay their respects.
The vigil was quickly organized after the pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine claimed to have discovered a grave containing the bodies of at least four people allegedly killed by Ukrainian forces.
On the same day, activists unfurled a banner in front of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow seeming to blame Washington for civilian casualties in easter Ukraine.
"Innocent civilians shot in the Donetsk region. Is this your real democracy, Obama?" the banner read.
