Near the Russian consulate in Tel Aviv, #Russian citizens burn their passports in support of #Ukraine

Putin cracked down on Russians calling for peace tonight, with police and national guard seen dragging protesters away for showing solidarity with Ukraine and other similar demonstrations across the world.

Rarely seen protests against Russian president Vladimir Putin broke out in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, as the global outcry against the Russian strongman grew louder.

Pictures showed officers physically picking up protesters and dragging them away from the demonstrations, which are rare in the authoritarian country which does not tolerate dissent against the Kremlin.

Russian police have detained more than 1,700 people at anti-war protests across Russia after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to invade Ukraine, an independent monitor said Thursday.

Some 1,702 people in 53 Russian cities were detained, at least 940 of them in Moscow and over 340 people in the second-largest city Saint Petersburg, according to OVD-Info, which tracks arrests at opposition rallies.

Earlier, a Russian opposition activist who called for anti-war protests told Reuters that she had been detained by police.

'I was detained on my way out of the house,' Marina Litvinovich, the Moscow-based activist, wrote on Telegram. She confirmed her detention separately in a message to Reuters.

Litvinovich called on Russians earlier to gather in protest in various Russian cities on Thursday evening.

Litvinovich also said in a video statement on Facebook: 'I know that right now many of you feel desperation, helplessness, shame over Vladimir Putin's attack on the friendly nation of Ukraine. But I urge you not to despair.'

'We, the Russian people, are against the war Putin has unleashed. We don't support this war, it is being waged not on our behalf,' she added.

Earlier today, more than 150 senior Russian officials signed an open letter condemning Putin's invasion as 'an unprecedented atrocity' and warning of 'catastrophic consequences'.

The deputies said they were 'convinced' Russian citizens do not back the war and blamed Putin 'personally' for ordering troops into Ukraine in an attack 'for which there is no and cannot be justification'.

Across Europe and the rest of the world, anti-war activists took to their own streets and gathered outside Russian embassies including those in London, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Riga, as well as further afield in Tokyo, making their voices heard. Sydney also saw furious protesters calling for an end to the conflict.

Demonstrations were held overnight before war was declared by Russia, and continued into Thursday as Russian tanks rolled towards Kiev. There have been reports of intense fighting and casualties on both sides.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday also called on Ukrainian to 'go out' and 'protest against this war', after urging Russians to do the same earlier this week in a bid to prevent the invasion.

'We have severed diplomatic relations with Russia. For all those who have not yet lost their conscience in Russia, it is time to go out and protest against the war with Ukraine,' he said today.