Sky high airfares, queues at borders and thousands arrested following Putin’s partial mobilisation

Panicked Russians are fleeing for the border while airfares have jumped to ten times the normal price after Putin’s desperate mobilisation plan.

Russians are fleeing the country after Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation to save his faltering war in Ukraine.

On the day of Putin’s speech, it was claimed that Google’s top search term in the country was “how to leave Russia”.

Huge queues were seen at some border posts.

Meanwhile, demonstrations have broken out in major cities. That’s despite any opposition to the war being an arrestable offence.

Indeed, some reports have said over 2000 Russians were arrested on Wednesday evening alone.

At one protest a woman can be heard saying to a police officer: “I’m not going to die for Putin. Or for you.”

A billboard reading ‘Serving Russia is a real job’ in Saint Petersburg. Picture: Olga Maltseva / AFP

On Wednesday morning Moscow time, Putin vowed to use “all available means” to protect Russian territory.

He darkly warned forces from Kyiv to stay away from areas of Ukraine under its control where referendums to join Russia sham are due to be held in just days.

Around 300,000 reservists from across Russia will be called up with the priority being those with experience of military service or with much needed skills, such as medics.

“In its aggressive anti-Russian policy, the West has crossed all lines,” Putin said.

But it appears many of his own people are keen to cross the nearest border line and leave Russia, fearful they made be called up to fight.

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during a televised address in Moscow. Picture: Handout / Kremlin.ru / AFP

Airfares to leave Russia sky rocket

“I don’t want to be cannon fodder,” a 30-year-old man told independent news outlet the Moscow Times.

Russian defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said just 1 per cent of reservists are being called up.

But many with no experience of being in the military are concerned they will be next in line to receive conscription papers.

Russian news service RIA Novosti said almost all flights to Turkey, Georgia, Armenia and the United Arab Emirates — some of the few countries that still have air access to for Russia — had sold out.

No flights from Moscow to Armenia on Thursday.

Flights were available for later in the week but prices are sky high.

The seats that were left were many times more expensive to purchase than usual.

A one-way ticket for the three-and-half-hour flight from Moscow to Yerevan in Armenia usually costs around $A150. There were reports that seats on flights on Thursday were being sold for 160,000 roubles ($A4000) or even more.

Flights departing Moscow and St. Petersburg today. The @AP is reporting international flights departing Russia have either sold out or skyrocketed in price after Putin announced a mobilization of reservists.

Search SVO, VKO, DME for Moscow airports and LED for St. Petersburg. pic.twitter.com/LV2PrkwPD9

— Flightradar24 (@flightradar24) September 21, 2022

Moscow to Dubai flight on Emirates were a similar price.

“My brother is scared. We are urgently trying to buy him a plane ticket somewhere,” a Russian woman told the Moscow Times.

Russians arrive at Yerevan's Zvartnots airport on September 21, 2022. Picture: Karen Minasyan / AFP

Pictures of queues at border

Perhaps one of the most arresting images that proves many are fearful of Putin’s plan is a picture circulated online purportedly of long queues on foot and in cars to get into Georgia.

Georgia still allows relatively easy visa free travel from Russians.

Another picture online was said to have shown a 35km traffic jam at the border into Finland, around two hours north of St Petersburg.

Фото с границы Грузии и России. Отчаявшиеся люди пытаются спастись.

В отличие от стран Балтии, грузинский МИД заявил, что не собирается вводить визы для россиян. pic.twitter.com/FcaUPa0TFs

— SVTV NEWS (@svtv_news) September 21, 2022

However, the Finnish Border Guard tweeted that the situation at the border “had not changed” and warned some videos might be from some time ago.

“There is incorrect information in circulation,” it said.

Nevertheless, various videos have popped purportedly filmed by people hastily leaving Russia while they still can.

For now the borders are open. But it’s no longer an easy task to enter another country.

All European Union nations have banned air travel to and from Russia and most have made it harder for people to get a visa.

Situation at Finland's borders has not changed with the announcement of Russian moilization. There are videos circulating on social media, at least some of which have already been filmed before and now taken out of context. There is incorrect information in circulation.

— Rajavartiolaitos (@rajavartijat) September 21, 2022

Several EU nations, including those bordering Russia, have gone further. The Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania won’t let anyone enter from Russia with only a few exceptions such as diplomats and those who live or have family abroad.

Both Latvia and Finland have said they will not provide asylum to fleeing Russians.

“Due to security reasons, Latvia will not issue humanitarian or other types of visas to those Russian citizens who avoid mobilisation,” Latvian foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said on Twitter.

The restrictions might even be starting some distance from the border.

There have been reports that Russian Railways and Russian airlines have now been told to not sell international tickets to any fighting age men. This has not been confirmed

Even some Russian cities appear to be stopping men from leaving, even if it’s just to the next town

Reuters reported that in Kursk, 500km south of Moscow and close to the Belarus and Ukrainian borders, cars were being inspected for fleeing men.

“They’re not letting people out of Kursk,” one woman told the news agency.

“There are police cordons everywhere, checking each car. If a man is driving, they inspect; if it’s a woman, they ask her to open the luggage compartment. If the man is from Kursk, they turn you back.”

Up to 2000 people arrested

While many support Putin and his war, anti-war demonstrations were seen in various Russian cities in the hour following Putin’s speech.

Human rights groups OVD-Info said there had been clashes in 38 Russian cities. It put the number of arrests as 1300 but some reports have said that figure is as high as 2000. Most of the arrests were in Moscow and St Petersburg, the country’s two dominant cities.

Almost 2K Russians jailed today as a result of protests against mobilisation. Or deathification as they are called locally in #Russia. pic.twitter.com/jhQiYbGucX

— Lesia Vasylenko (@lesiavasylenko) September 21, 2022

Not only are Russians fleeing and protesting, leaders with the ear of Putin have been increasingly vocal in their desire for the conflict to end.

China called for a “ceasefire through dialogue and consultation” following Putin’s address on Ukraine, in which he made a thinly-veiled threat to use nuclear weapons.

China’s foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a press briefing, “that the sovereign and territorial integrity of all countries should be respected, the purposes and principles of the UN Charter should be abided by, the legitimate security concerns of all countries should be taken seriously, and all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of crises should be supported.

Demonstrators in Saint Petersburg. Picture: Olga Maltseva / AFP

Police officers detain a man in Moscow on September 21 following calls to protest against partial mobilisation announced by President Vladimir Putin. Picture: Alexander Nemenov / AFP

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been critical of Putin’s referendum plans to add a fake veneer of legitimacy to his annexation efforts.

At the United Nations in New York on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden slammed Moscow.

“This war is about extinguishing Ukraine’s right to exist as a state, plain and simple, and Ukraine’s right to exist as a people,” he said.

“Wherever you are, wherever you live, whatever you believe … That should make your blood run cold.

“If nations can pursue their imperial ambitions without consequences, then we put at risk everything this very institution stands for, everything.

“Ukraine has the same rights belong to every sovereign nation. We will stand in solidarity with Ukraine who will stand in solidarity against Russia’s aggression, period.”