Today, Russian troops were positioned near the Georgian border as the Kremlin attempted to dispel rumors that Vladimir Putin was preparing to declare martial law and prohibit citizens from leaving to evade conscription.
On the main roadway from Russia into Georgia’s South Ossetia area, footage geolocated to the small village of Chmi shows at least six soldiers atop an armored vehicle passing a line of automobiles in the direction of the crossing.
Sources informed Russia’s RBC network that troops arrived to set up a checkpoint, and the FSB said they were deployed to prevent people from assaulting the border after miles-long lines of men attempting to avoid the draft formed.
Nonetheless, it sparked concerns that Putin is ready to seal Russia’s borders to prevent men from escaping the conscription, since reports indicate that 260,000 men have fled in just five days.
Russian forces have gone to the Georgian border, where long lines of men attempting to dodge Putin’s draft order have formed.
The FSB stated that the soldiers were present to avoid disturbance, while the Kremlin attempted to dispel rumors that Putin may proclaim martial law.
When asked about rumors of border closures and martial law today, Dmitry Peskov emphasized that he was unaware of any such plans.
“At this time, no decisions have been made,” he told reporters in Moscow.
Meduza was the first to report rumors that the borders could be sealed, citing a presidential palace source who also disclosed the estimated number of refugees who had fled across the border.
In a rare admission, the Kremlin acknowledged ‘errors’ in the mobilisation, stating that Putin’s directive to enlist 300,000 men with military experience was not implemented, as film showed middle-aged men and students being drafted.
Peskov stressed, though, that cases of noncompliance are decreasing. We hope this expedites the process and that any problems are rectified.’
As a commissar was shot in a draft office in the Siberian province of Irkutsk, there appeared to be no indication that compliance was increasing today.
Investigators identified the suspect as a 25-year-old local, and his mother stated he was’very unhappy’ when his companion, who had no prior military experience, received call-up orders.
The woman, Marina Zinina, was quoted by local media as stating, “They claimed there would be a partial mobilization, but it turns out that they’re taking everyone.”
According to accounts, 260,000 Russians have departed the nation in just five days, causing huge lines to form along the key route that connects Russia and Georgia.
Putin last week ordered the mobilization of 300,000 military reservists to bolster his failed campaign in Ukraine, but many have fled out of concern that the net will be cast far wider.
Igor Kobzev, the regional governor, stated that a recruitment officer had been injured and that physicians were fighting for his life.
“I am embarrassed that this is occurring at a time when we should be unified.” We must not fight each other, but rather real threats, remarked Kobzev.
Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin declared a ‘partial’ mobilization after Moscow’s army was driven back from a large portion of the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
The announcement triggered alarm and protests, with over 2,000 anti-mobilization demonstrators imprisoned throughout the nation.
Critics have accused the Kremlin of concentrating conscription efforts in remote regions inhabited by ethnic minorities, such as Siberia or the North Caucasus, in order to prevent unrest in major centres, especially Moscow.
A police-monitoring NGO reported that authorities in the North Caucasus republic of Dagestan arrested more than 100 anti-mobilisation protesters.
According to a tally of death notices published by Russian media, more males have been killed in Ukraine than in any other region in Russia, as evidenced by social media footage of violent clashes between demonstrators and police in a poor country with a Muslim majority.
Today, Putin welcomed Belarus dictator Alexander Lukashenko in Sochi, where Lukashenko assured Putin that “our cause is just” and “we will prevail.”
“Why are you stealing our children?” a woman could be heard yelling in Russian media-aired protest videos.
The OVD-Info police monitoring group reported that 24 people were arrested on Sunday during similar demonstrations in Yakutsk, the capital of the vast Siberian republic of Yakutia.
Since Putin’s declaration last week, numerous recruitment centers in Russian regions have been attacked.
Monday morning, intruders reportedly attempted to set fire to a building in the southern city of Volgograd.
According to analysts, the mobilization has sparked anti-Kremlin rallies in regions that are typically sympathetic to Moscow’s political goals, which could diminish Putin’s popularity.
The mobilization showed signs of imposing more economic strain, adding to the sanctions imposed by the West on Moscow for sending troops into Ukraine.
The Moscow stock exchange fell 10% on Monday to its lowest level since Russia launched its offensive in Ukraine seven months ago.