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Environmental activists detained during Khimki Forest protest

© RIA Novosti . Anton Denisov / Go to the mediabankFelled trees at the site where the future road to St. Petersburg will be built
Felled trees at the site where the future road to St. Petersburg will be built - Sputnik International
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Police on Sunday detained a group of environmental activists protesting at the Khimki forest, where a disputed road to St. Petersburg is being laid, a police spokesman said.

Police on Sunday detained a group of environmental activists protesting at the Khimki forest, where a disputed road to St. Petersburg is being laid, a police spokesman said.

Various political and environmental groups have long been protesting against the demolition of mature woodland near Moscow to make way for a new highway to Russia's second largest city. The project, however, was given the go-ahead last December, just three months after President Dmitry Medvedev put it on hold amid a huge public outcry.

Police was called in by employees of a private security company, who said the environmentalists tried to halt construction equipment on the site, the spokesman said.

"Several activists were taken to a police station for a preventive talk about unsanctioned protests, and were soon released," the source said.

Both sides filed no complaints to police.

The planned multi-lane motorway has divided public opinion, and several journalists who reported on the Khimki forest campaign have been attacked and badly hurt.

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