At least 200,000 Russians have left the country in the week since President Vladimir V. Putin announced a partial military mobilization after a series of setbacks in the country’s war with Ukraine, according to figures provided by the neighbors of the Russia.
Mobilization could draw up to 300,000 civilians into military service, from what Russian officials have said is a pool of some 25 million draft-eligible adults on their rolls, suggesting departures, although unusual, may not prevent the Kremlin from achieving its goal. conscription goals.
Video posted on social media platforms showed long lines of cars approaching border checkpoints in countries including Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Finland. The rapid exodus, along with a series of protests in different parts of the country, is a brutal display of discontent with Mr. Putin’s policies.
“I left because of my disagreement with the current government in Russia,” said Alexander Oleinikov, 29, a bus driver from Moscow who had traveled overland from northeast Georgia. He said many people he knew were against the war, which he called a “tragedy” caused by “a mad dictator”.
The scale of the exodus is difficult to determine, however, given that Russia has borders with 14 countries, ranging from China and North Korea to the Baltic states, and not all governments regularly release data. on migration.
Kazakhstan’s government said on Tuesday that 98,000 Russians entered the country last week and Georgia’s interior minister said more than 53,000 people entered the country from Russia since September 21, the date on which the mobilization was announced. The daily number has climbed over these days to around 10,000 from a normal level of around 5,000 to 6,000.
The European Union’s border agency, Frontex, said in a statement that nearly 66,000 Russian citizens entered the bloc in the week to Sunday, up 30% from the previous week.
These figures lend further credibility to the scale of the exodus described in a report published this weekend by the independent Russian newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which quoted what it said was a security service estimate, provided by an anonymous source, of 261,000 men who left the country. by Sunday.
There is also evidence that Russia could take steps to stem the flow of departures. On Wednesday, the Russian republic of North Ossetia imposed restrictions on cars from other parts of the country. Republic Governor Sergei Menyaylo said the ban was introduced after 20,000 people crossed the border in two days.
Some European countries have already imposed border restrictions with Russia, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which have closed their doors to most Russian citizens. Finland is considering similar measures.
On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Moscow, which had previously urged its citizens to leave Russia, reaffirmed its position in light of the mobilization campaign, warning that those with dual Russian and US citizenship could be at risk. risk of being recruited.
Russia is also trying to crack down on citizens trying to leave the country. On Tuesday, state media reported that men waiting to flee at the Georgian border were being handed appeal papers.
Some analysts, however, warned that the practical impact of the departures would likely be limited.
“Many young Russian men leave in mass exodus from Russia”, said Mick Ryan, an Australian military specialist who commented at length on the war in Ukraine. “But millions more will not be able to afford to leave Russia to escape their conscription notices.”
Ksenia Ivanova contributed reporting.