Ukraine war: Russian exodus grows amid fears Putin may restrict borders
- Concerns grow in Russia that Vladimir Putin will shut borders to prevent draft-age men from leaving
- Defence officials say 300,000 more Russians will called up to serve in the mobilisation campaign
Russian men and their families flooded to the border over the weekend as speculation grew that the Kremlin may bar mobilisation-eligible men from leaving the country.
Witnesses reported hours-long lines at the main airport in Moscow and at land crossings into Kazakhstan and Georgia as reports spread that those subject to the call-up may be banned from leaving as soon as this week.
The government sought to assure people that the rules of the “partial” mobilisation that President Vladimir Putin declared September 21 would be enforced after stories of ailing, old or otherwise exempt people being conscripted went viral on social media.
Putin late on Saturday decreed a deferral for some students at state vocational schools and universities, after the Defence Ministry’s assurances failed to calm the public.
Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the lower house of parliament, on Sunday promised an “individual” approach to each complaint received, reiterating assurances from some regional governors.
But the Federal Security Service, or FSB, has begun stopping men from leaving the country on the orders of military commissariats, Russian lawyer Pavel Chikov, who advises on conscription cases, said in his Telegram channel. He posted photos of two notices handed out at different crossings on the border with Kazakhstan.