Prices for flights from Russia skyrocket after announcement of Putin’s mobilization | International

The Russians still accept the fact that the war in Ukraine is not being fought by others and that the decisions of their leader, Vladimir Putin, also affect them. The decree of partial mobilization that the president signed on Wednesday has caused confusion and panic among many Russians. As the hours passed, there were fewer and fewer options for leaving the country.

Flights out of the country sold out quickly as assimilated citizens the message of the Russian leader. Barely an hour after Putin addressed his fellow citizens for the first time since the start of the offensive, to tell them that some of them would be forced to leave for the front, Wednesday’s flights from the Russian capital to Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia were sold out. After a few hours, there was no possibility of traveling in the following days, not even to other destinations where Russians do not need visas, such as Central Asian countries.

Siberian Airlines had sold all its flights from Moscow to Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe until September 26. Tickets from other Russian cities were available, but the few remaining were selling at prohibitive prices. Flying from St. Petersburg to the capital of Armenia costs 193,000 rubles, more than €3,000 at the exchange rate.

Russians will also not be able to leave the country through the Baltic States. Following the war in Ukraine, these nations decided to close their borders to all Russians, even those with a Schengen visa for the whole of the European area. “Latvia will not issue humanitarian or other visas to Russian citizens who avoid mobilization,” warned Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics.

Major Russian carriers, including flag carrier Aeroflot, as well as Russian Railways (RZHD), say they have not been instructed to stop selling tickets abroad to potential reservists. “I have a military record, even though I haven’t served. I bought a ticket with Aeroflot yesterday and they didn’t ask me anything, neither the reason for the trip nor how much money I have, so more or less as usual,” said a 34-year-old man. , whose testimony was shared. by a Telegram channel created at the start of the war to help citizens leave the country.

Putin’s decree caused a lot of confusion due to its vagueness. The text does not specify who will be called by the Army, and part of the task will fall to each regional government. “I think that the mobilization only concerns those who have military experience,” a citizen who preferred to remain anonymous told this newspaper. Many thought the call from recruiting offices would only reach veterans of conflicts like Syria, but with the legal text being worded, anyone with military service could be called up.

There is little information available. A platform of lawyers and human rights activists, Call to Conscience, recalled that current Russian legislation protects people “whose beliefs or religion are incompatible with military service” so that they can apply for civilian alternatives to military service. “This also applies to the mobilization period,” the organization added in a statement.

The news had been so unexpected that the Moscow Stock Exchange collapsed by more than 10%. The wave of panic recalls the first days of the offensive in Ukraine. Thousands of Russians then left the country fearing that the border would be closed and that they could not escape. However, many returned later due to a false sense of calm and because they could not afford to live abroad.

The same is happening now with the announcement of mobilization. The Russian President’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, has warned that conscription will not be instantaneous and that the 300,000 troops the Defense Ministry says it wants to mobilize could be called up in the future, so any Russians who flee could be mobilized upon his return. . In addition, the State Duma on Tuesday approved a series of amendments providing for prison terms for reservists who do not respond to their summons.

Likewise, the decree was approved with one point, the seventh, completely deleted from the document. Peskov did not explain its content and limited himself to promising that the number of reservists will not be higher than that announced by the authorities. On March 5, Putin assured that they would not use “neither conscripts nor reservists”. “They are not and will not be employed in this military operation. Our army will solve any task that arises,” he said at the time.