Russians flee after Putin’s latest military call-up

Altanbulag – Long lines of vehicles were seen at a border crossing between Mongolia and Russia yesterday as people fled the Kremlin’s call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine.

The head of a checkpoint in the town of Altanbulag told AFP more than 3 000 Russians had entered Mongolia via the crossing since Wednesday, most of them men.

Queues of people holding Russian passports were also seen outside the immigration counter for the border crossing, according to an AFP reporter there.

“From 21 September, the number of Russian citizens entering Mongolia has increased,” checkpoint head Major G Byambasuren told AFP.

“As of 12 noon today, more than 3 000 Russian citizens have entered Mongolia.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday announced Russia’s first military call-up of fighting-age men since World War II.

It is designed to fill Russia’s army with hundreds of thousands of men after a string of setbacks that appears to have altered the tide in the seven-month Ukraine war.

Byambasuren said about 2 500 of the Russians crossing the border were men while more than 500 were women and children.

“Most of them are single young people who crossed the border with their parents,” he added.

Russian nationals can visit Mongolia and stay without a visa for 30 days, and extend their stay by another 30 days if needed, Byambasuren said.

Authorities on Saturday detained more than 700 people at protests across Russia against the partial military mobilisation, according to an independent monitoring group.

Police monitor OVD-Info counted at least 726 people detained at rallies in 32 cities, nearly half of them in Moscow.

A stream of Russians also flocked by air to Istanbul on Saturday where several expressed relief at escaping but also concern for the safety of loved ones left behind. – AFP