In the report of ‘mobilizing 1 million people and calling for women’
Visa-free borders and airports of neighboring countries
Europe announces intention to protect anti-Putin forces
A Russian man, conscripted by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s mobilization order, kisses his lover before boarding a military bus in Yakutsk, eastern part of the country on the 23rd, local time. On social networking services such as Twitter, videos of people who have been called for mobilization are being spread throughout Russia as they part with their families. Yakutsk | AP Yonhap News
Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a partial mobilization order for 300,000 reservists in Russia, and thousands of people are flocking to the border to avoid it.
Germany and the European Union said they might accept asylum applications from Russian deserters.
German Interior Minister Nancy Pager, in an interview with the Allgemeinezon Tax Zeitung (FAS) in Frankfurt, Germany on the 22nd (local time), said, “Deserts who are under serious threat of repression receive international protection in Germany in principle.” Anyone at risk can apply for asylum on grounds of political persecution.”
He added, however, that political asylum is not automatically granted, and that asylum applications are approved on a case-by-case basis following a safety check.
EU Commission spokeswoman Anita Hipper told DPA that those who fled Russia following the mobilization order were declared have the right to apply for asylum in the EU.
According to foreign media such as the BBC, immediately following President Putin issued a partial mobilization order on the 21st, the number of people fleeing the country to escape conscription is increasing in Russia.
At the Verkhni Lars border checkpoint on the Georgian border with Russia, a 5-6 km long queue of vehicles was formed. When the traffic came to a standstill because of the rush of vehicles, some drivers eventually abandoned their cars and pulled themselves out to run.
In just a few hours following the declaration of the mobilization order, flights to neighboring countries such as Turkiye (Turkey) and Armenia where visa-free entry is possible were sold out.
According to Euronews, flights to Belgrade, Serbia, are currently trading on the black market for around 9,000 euros (regarding 12.4 million won). Considering that it was traded at 850 euros just the day before, the price of a plane ticket has more than doubled in one day.
Meanwhile, reports have emerged that the Russian authorities may be able to recruit 1 million people in the future. Russian independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that a classified partial mobilization ordinance signed by Putin contained content that would allow up to one million people to be summoned. However, Kremlin spokeswoman Dmitry Peskov said the report was “a lie.”
Naval Admiral Vladimir Tzymlysky, head of the Mobilization Department of the Russian General Staff, explained that the Ministry of Defense plans to convene 120,000 men during the regular autumn conscription operation, TASS news agency reported. “Private and sergeant under the age of 35, junior officers under 50 and senior officers under 55 are eligible for mobilization,” he said. This suggests that women can also be conscripted.
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