Serbia’s capital, Belgrade, has become a popular destination for Russians during the war. “All the Russians who wanted to go to war already went,” the group said. ![]() Flights to Türkiye, Georgia or Armenia also sold out, according to the Belgrade-based group. In an apparent attempt to calm the panic, the head of the defense committee of the lower house of Russia’s parliament, Andrei Kartapolov, said authorities would not place additional restrictions on reservists leaving Russia, according to Russian media reports.Ī group based in Serbia, Russians, Belarussians, Ukrainians and Serbs Together Against War, tweeted that there were no available flights to Belgrade from Russia until mid-October. Social networks in Russian also surged with advice on how to avoid the mobilization or leave the country. Some postings alleged people already had been turned back from Russia’s land border with Georgia and that the website of the state Russian railway company collapsed because too many people were checking for ways out of the country. Anti-war groups said the limited airplane tickets out of Russia reached enormous prices due to high demand and swiftly became unavailable. Reports of panic spreading among Russians soon flooded social networks. During the early morning address to the nation in which the president announced the partial mobilization of reservists, he also issued a veiled nuclear threat to Russia’s enemies in the West. Russia has seen a marked exodus of citizens since Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine almost seven months ago. The Kremlin declined to comment on whether the borders would be closed to those subject to the mobilization order and asked people to be patient as the law is clarified. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised interview that 300,000 reservists with relevant combat and service experience initially would be mobilized. Putin’s decree stipulates that the number of people called to active duty will be determined by the Defense Ministry. Aeroflot, the country’s flag-carrying airline, said it was not limiting ticket sales. The head of Russia’s tourism agency said no restrictions have been imposed on traveling abroad so far. Pegasus is also increasing its passenger capacity, a spokesperson told dpa. Likewise, budget carrier Pegasus’ tickets from Moscow to Istanbul, among other cities, were sold out through Saturday. Prices reached as high as 173,000 rubles on the Turkish Airlines website. Typical one-way fares to Türkiye shot up to more than 80,000 rubles ($1,321), compared with a little over 22,000 rubles a week ago.
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