THOUSANDS of Russians are still queuing to get out of the country as the 20km traffic jam at the Russian-Georgian border is now visible from space.
On Monday, a Russian conscription officer was shot by a young man who refused to be drafted amid Putin’s attempt to scramble 300,000 extra soldiers to the Ukrainian frontline after announcing a partial mobilisation of Russian troops.
A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of the traffic jam near the Russian border with Georgia[/caption]
This satellite image shows the traffic jam at the Khyagt border post between Mongolia and Russia[/caption]
Russian men queuing at the Georgian border as they flee their homeland to avoid conscription into Putin’s army[/caption]
This comes as thousands protested Putin’s brutal new policy to aid in his bloodthirsty invasion of Ukraine.
Satellite images from Maxar Technologies show a queue of cars fleeing Russia on its border with Georgia at the so-called Upper Lars border crossing stretching for almost 20 km on Monday.
Russians told media they had been waiting for anywhere between 40 and 50 hours.
Similar images of huge tailbacks came from the Khyagt border post between Mongolia and Russia.
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Up to 260,000 men have fled the country to avoid being drafted into the Russian army, according to the Russian security services (FSB).
A Kremlin source told Novaya Gazeta Europe they had seen a report stating that 261,000 men had left Russia between Wednesday and Saturday night.
However, the newspaper said the number could be much higher because data might have taken longer to be reported to the highest instances.
“The atmosphere within the administration is such that security forces and the defense ministry will be able to persuade Putin to close the exits before it’s too late,” the source is quoted as saying.
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Already on Monday, there were reports that the Russian army had sent armoured personnel carriers to the Verkhny Lars checkpoint at the border with Georgia.
On Monday, it was also revealed that over 8,000 Russians fled to Finland in a desperate attempt to flee the policy.
A draft order from the Kremlin on closing borders has not yet been announced.
“Yesterday 8,314 Russians entered Finland via Finnish Russian land border. Double the number than the week before.
“During Saturday and Sunday total of 16 886 Russians arrived. Many in transit to other countries. Sunday 5,068 Russians exited,” Matti Pitkäniitty, Head of International Affairs Unit at Finnish Border Guard, tweeted.
But many Russian men have been desperately looking for ways to avoid Putin’s draft to stop themselves from being sent to die in Ukraine.
Men have reportedly been hastily getting married or registering themselves as carers for elderly children in a bid to get out of the war – with some reported to have broken their own arms to escape the draft.
Shocking footage even showed one man setting himself on fire at a railway station in Ryazan, 110 miles southeast of Moscow, to avoid being sent to the frontline.
In the chilling video, the man calmly pours petrol or some other flammable substance from a canister over his head, before sparking a flame.
The man, who lived, reportedly shouted: “I don’t want to go to war.”
