Ukraine war
Estimated 400,000 Russians fled due to mobilization
After the partial mobilization was announced, there was more traffic than usual on the Russian-Finnish border. photo
© Sasu Mäkinen/Lehtikuva/dpa
The partial mobilization has terrified many people in Russia. Hundreds of thousands have fled the country, others have gone into hiding.
According to Western officials, an estimated 400,000 Russians have fled their homes as a result of the partial mobilization. The number does not include those who had already left the country because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. In addition to fleeing abroad, many Russians have also gone underground in their own country to avoid being drafted into the armed forces, representatives of a Western government said in an interview with journalists on Wednesday.
In addition to fleeing abroad, many Russians have also gone underground in their own country to avoid being drafted into the armed forces, government officials said in an interview with journalists.
When you add that to the number of people who were actually conscripted, the decline in the working population is “a significant additional burden on Russia’s economy and public finances,” they said.
Moscow announced last week that the partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists for the war in Ukraine, which began at the end of September, has now been completed. Around 82,000 of the men are already deployed at the front, and the rest are currently being prepared for combat in Russia. New mobilization measures are not planned.
The soldiers at the front should ensure that Russia does not lose the Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Cherson regions that were annexed and partially occupied by Ukraine. Putin had stated that it was about securing a front line of around 1,100 kilometers in length. Ukraine wants to liberate the areas – and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014 – again.