Russian men facing potential military conscription have fled the country in the wake of President Vladimir Putin’s partial military mobilization order earlier this week,
The exodus signaled the unpopularity of the order and the extent people were willing to go to avoid being sent to fight in Ukraine after Putin said as many as 300,000 could be called up for service.
The White House has characterized Putin’s move as an act of desperation, as his botched invasion reached the seven-month mark and the Ukrainian military has, in recent weeks, regained swaths of territory and seized momentum.
Analysts have questioned whether the Russian military has the wherewithal to train and equip hundreds of thousands of soldiers, many of whom likely do not want to fight this war
Lines of cars packed with people fleeing the country backed up at the Russian border with Finland and stretched for miles at its borders with Georgia and Kazakhstan, AP reports.
The cost of airfare out of Russia swelled too, with flights to countries where Russians do not need visas for entry like Turkey, Serbia, Armenia, and elsewhere — selling for a premium.
According to reports, some have fled to Belarus, a close Russian ally that has ordered its security forces to round up Russian men found fleeing the draft and report them to Russian authorities.
Videos circulating on social media showed some men fighting back against police seeking to round them up for conscription.
