Are they dead yet?

That's an amazing display of courage! Almost unfathomable. Surely they know what's likely to happen to them as a result.
Absolutely stunning.

Just to be a bit of a shit stirrer, unlike me I know
How is Ukraine treating opposing political parties/ views?

A good sign. Putin's day is past and he needs to be rolled with the process starting. Just want the Russians to do it after all, don't we all agree foreign interference in domestic political affairs is a bad thing?
The Russian Federation is not the USSR. The days of Gulags are gone. Russian democracy at work, not perfect but it's happening. No crowds on the street yet.
How do our countries handle political dissent? Canada, asking you. Victoria Australia.

Hoping for the best.

Pretty ballsy move.
How soon before they start committing "suicide"?

Wouldn't it be suitable for one of them to bring a concealed weapon to a meeting and execute the dictator who is dragging their country into the mud?

Or maybe a dot of nerve toxin on the handle of his teacup. The same poison they used on their escaped agent and wife in England a few years ago.

I heard of this earlier today. The average Russian believes the lies about "Nazis and an exercise in the Ukraine." Most do not give it a second thought. Now it will be different because more people than these original 18 are speaking out and letting Putin's failures be known. The move to oust Putin has begun.

They will have to try to deal with him in any way they can, because he is not going quietly.

I believe it was 18 of them.

Gutsy move for sure in a country where dissent is generally really bad for your health and future.