Russian citizens trying to cross border to avoid conscription

Russians trying to avoid getting conscripted to fight in Ukraine appeared to be trying to cross the border into Georgia, Kazakhstan and even remote Mongolia, satellite imagery suggested Monday.

Video obtained by Colorado-based Maxar Technology showed long lines of cargo trucks and private vehicles leaving Russia and entering the neighboring countries in the wake of Russian President Vladimir Putin's mobilization order.

Russian border guards didn't seem to be trying to stop them.

When we found out about the mobilization, we dropped everything at home and jumped into the car, Dmitry Kuriliyunok told Reuters in Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia.

Kuriliyunok said that he, his wife, Irina, and their young daughter first drove across southern Russia from Krasnodar to Mineralnye Vody in the North Caucasus, which has become a staging post for many Russians crossing into Georgia.

There, Kuriliyunok hired a local driver to take them through the border checkpoints. They arrived in Tbilisi after 24 hours.

He said that we are completely against this war. It is scary for us, like for others. We don't understand. We decided to flee. They are far from the only Russians who have made the trek.

About 40,000 Russians have taken refuge in Tbilisi since Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24, according to government statistics cited by the government.

I came to Tbilisi about a month and a half ago because I didn't support the military invasion of Ukraine, Ivan Streltsov, a reservist who could have been drafted in Russia, told Reuters.

I took part in protests when the military operation started, he said. Things have become very difficult for us as activists at this moment. We are all being watched in our own motherland. Russians are fleeing to Georgia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan and other countries because they don't require visas. It's been an ordeal for many people to get to the border.

Rodion Logvin, 30, told The Moscow Times after he made it into Georgia after a harrowing 1,200 mile drive from Moscow, during which he said he dodged several police checkpoints.

Logvin said he waited 34 hours at the border before he was allowed to enter Georgia.

The new Maxar images emerged amid reports of long lines of Russians trying to cross the border into neighboring Finland, one of the few entry points in Europe until Saturday after most Western countries barred entry of all Russians in retaliation for Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Before Putin announced the call-up, nine European Union countries stopped accepting Russian travel visas, including Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Russian and other media reported that flights to neighboring countries quickly sold out after Putin signed the decree to increase his country's armed forces by 137,000 as the Kremlin's war in Ukraine passed the six month mark.

Putin's decree aimed to increase the number of combat troops by 10%, to 1.15 million, and increase the military's total head count to 2.04 million.

The Kremlin, which had promised its people a quick victory, has been downplaying its defeat at the hands of the Ukrainians for months and has been downplaying its defeats.

Putin's move came after his defense chief admitted that the Russian military campaign had stalled in Ukraine, while experts warned that Moscow was running out of manpower and that its troops were demoralized.