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WORLD NEWS Thursday 22 sepTember 2022
Russians rush for flights out amid partial

reservist call-up

By DUSAN STOJANOVIC As- swiftly became unavail- viduals who could be eli- office yet” but he was still
sociated PressBELGRADE, able. Social networks in gible for the call-up against researching possible ex-
Serbia (AP) — Large num- Russian surged with advice “traveling to resorts in Tur- emptions, “so we left.” They
bers of Russians rushed to on how to avoid the mobi- key.” “Spend your vaca- declined to give their last
book one-way tickets out
of the country while they
still could Wednesday af-
ter Russian President Vladi-
mir Putin announced a
partial mobilization of mili-
tary reservists for the war
in Ukraine. Flights filled up
quickly and the prices of
tickets for remaining con-
nections skyrocketed, ap-
parently driven by fears
that Russia’s borders could
soon close or that Putin
could later announce a
broader call-up that might
send many Russian men of
fighting age to the war’s
front lines. Tickets for the
Moscow-Belgrade flights
operated by Air Serbia,
the only European carrier
besides Turkish Airlines to
maintain flights to Russia
despite a European Union
flight embargo, quickly Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend the opening
sold out for the next several of the Army 2022 International Military and Technical Forum in the Patriot Park outside Moscow,
days. The price for flights Russia, Monday, Aug. 15, 2022. Associated Press
from Moscow to Istanbul
or Dubai increased within lization or leave the coun- tion at the resorts of Crimea names. Serbia’s capital of
minutes before jumping try. Some postings alleged or (Russia’s southern) Kras- Belgrade has become a
again, reaching as high people already had been nodar region,” Russian me- popular destination for Rus-
as 9,200 euros ($9,119) for turned back from Russia’s dia quoted Kartapolov as sians during the war. Up to
a one-way economy class land border with Georgia saying. A group based in 50,000 Russians have fled
fare. Putin’s decree stipu- and that the website of Serbia, called Russians, Be- to Serbia since Russia in-
lates that the amount of the state Russian railway larussians, Ukrainians and vaded Ukraine in February
people called to active company had collapsed Serbs Together Against and many have opened
duty will be determined by because too many people War, tweeted that there businesses, especially in
the Defense Ministry. De- were checking for ways out were no available flights to the IT sector. Russians don’t
fense Minister Sergei Shoigu of the country. The OVD- Belgrade from Russia un- need visas to enter Serbia,
said in a televised inter- Info monitoring group said til mid-October. Flights to which has not joined West-
view that 300,000 reservists over 800 Russians were ar- Turkey, Georgia or Arme- ern sanctions against Russia
with relevant combat and rested Wednesday in anti- nia also sold out, accord- for its aggression in Ukraine.
service experience initially war protests in 37 Russian ing to the Belgrade-based Allies such as Belarus and
would be mobilized. Rus- cities, including Moscow group. “All the Russians China also have not im-
sia has seen a marked and St. Petersburg. Protest- who wanted to go to war posed sanctions on Russia.
exodus of citizens since ers in Moscow chanted already went,” the group A Wednesday flight from
Putin ordered his troops “No to war!” and “Life to said. “No one else wants Moscow to Belgrade was
to invade Ukraine almost our children!” Russian of- to go there!” One Russian packed with young Russian
seven months ago. During ficials sought to calm the man named Sergey said men who said they could
Putin’s address to the na- public, stressing that the he had prepared for a Rus- not speak to reporters be-
tion Wednesday in which call-up would affect a limit- sian mobilization scenario cause they feared nega-
he announced the partial ed number of people fitting and quickly brought his tive repercussions for the
mobilization of reservists, certain criteria. However, 17-year-old son out of Rus- families they left behind. A
he also issued a veiled nu- conflicting statements and sia. “The tickets didn’t cost Russian woman, who iden-
clear threat to Russia’s en- a lack of details helped too much, as I was proba- tified herself as Yulia, said
emies in the West. Reports fuel the panic. The head bly quick enough. And we she, too, was afraid “my
of panic spreading among of the Duma’s defense got through the border just government and police”
Russians soon flooded so- committee, Andrei Karta- fine,” he said upon arriving might see her remarks.
cial networks. Anti-war polov, said there would be Wednesday at the airport “But I want to say, ‘Free-
groups said the limited air- no additional restrictions in the Armenian capital of dom for Ukraine.’ Please,
plane tickets out of Russia on reservists leaving Russia Yerevan. His son, Nikolai, somebody stop Putin,” she
reached enormous prices based on this mobilization. said, “I haven’t gotten a said.q
due to high demand and But he also advised indi- letter from the recruitment