ISTANBUL — Military-aged males fled Russia in droves Friday, filling planes and inflicting visitors jams at border crossings to keep away from being rounded as much as combat in Ukraine following the Kremlin’s partial navy mobilization.
Queues stretching for six miles fashioned on a highway resulting in the southern border with Georgia, based on Yandex Maps, a Russian on-line map service.
The traces of automobiles had been so lengthy on the border with Kazakhstan that some folks deserted their autos and proceeded on foot — simply as some Ukrainians did after Russia invaded their nation on Feb. 24.
Meanwhile, dozens of flights out of Russia — with tickets bought at sky-high costs — carried males to worldwide locations comparable to Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Serbia, the place Russians don’t want visas.
Among those that reached Turkey was a 41-year-old who landed in Istanbul with a suitcase and a backpack and plans to begin a brand new life in Israel.
“I’m against this war, and I’m not going to be a part of it. I’m not going to be a murderer. I’m not going to kill people,” stated the person, who recognized himself solely as Yevgeny to keep away from potential retribution towards his household left behind in Russia.
He referred to Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “war criminal.”
Yevgeny determined to flee after Putin introduced a partial navy call-up on Wednesday. The whole variety of reservists concerned could possibly be as excessive as 300,000.
Some Russian males additionally fled to neighboring Belarus, Russia’s shut ally. But that carried danger.
The Nasha Niva newspaper, one of many oldest unbiased newspapers in Belarus, reported that Belarusian safety providers had been ordered to trace down Russians fleeing from the draft, discover them in inns and rented residences and report them to Russian authorities.
Russian authorities tried to calm an anxious public concerning the draft.
Legislators launched a invoice Friday that may droop or cut back mortgage funds for Russians referred to as up for responsibility. News shops emphasised that draftees would have the identical standing as skilled troopers and be paid the identical, and that their civilian jobs could be held for them.
The Defense Ministry stated that many individuals who work in excessive tech, communications or finance can be exempt from the call-up “to ensure the operations” of these fields, the Tass information company reported.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated the truth that Russians had been leaving their nation to keep away from conscription exhibits that the struggle in Ukraine is “unpopular.”
“What Putin is doing — he is not coming from a place of strength,” Jean-Pierre instructed reporters. “He is coming from a place of weakness.”
The exodus unfolded as a Kremlin-orchestrated referendum received underway looking for to make occupied areas of Ukraine a part of Russia. Kyiv and the West condemned it as a rigged election whose end result was preordained by Moscow.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”