Tens of thousands of Russians continue to try to flee the country, fearful of being caught up in the military mobilization ordered by president Vladimir Putin last week to replenish his forces in Ukraine.
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At the Verkhny Lars crossing where Russia borders Georgia, a line of hundreds of cars has formed, stretching back around 12 miles, according to journalists there, with thousands of people waiting, some sleeping in their cars. The BBC reported 2,500 cars were currently in the line, citing Russia’s customs service.
Russian authorities on Tuesday confirmed that Russian troops with armored vehicles had set up a checkpoint at the crossing to turn back those subject to the call-up and were handing out draft papers there. Officials said a mobile enlistment office had also been set up at the border crossing.
Kazakhstan, which has a nearly 5,000 mile-long border with Russia and a relaxed entry regime, has become a magnet for those leaving, with border crossings swamped. A 37-year-old man who entered Kazakhstan Monday near the Oral-Uralsk crossing said the line of traffic waiting at one checkpoint point now stretched nearly 20 miles.
People ride bicycles along a queue of vehicles at the Verkhny Lars checkpoint in North Ossetia, Russia on the border to Georgia, on Sept. 27, 2022. Around 3.5 thousand cars are queueing at…
The man said he had spent 20 hours by road to reach the border from Moscow and was now in the border city of Uralsk, on the Kazakhstan side. Although he is currently not subject to the draft because he has no military experience, he said he had still decided to flee because he feared the borders being closed soon and did not believe in fighting against Ukraine.
“There’s simply a hellish line — it’s endless. And moreover at all checkpoints,” the man, a manager from Tver, a city just outside Moscow, said by phone. He asked to remain anonymous for fear of punishment by the Russian authorities.
Miles-long lines of traffic have formed at border crossings with some neighboring countries amid the exodus, as Russians pack exit routes, worried the government might soon impose further restrictions on military age men leaving.
